Whatever words I say I will always love you
by nodistancelefttorun
Summary: AU. Blaine & Kurt are both wizards at Hogwarts. But Kurt is Muggle born and Blaine comes from a family of pure-bloods - will they overcome the obstacles between them? Will they ever end up together? I suck at summaries, sorry! Rated T for future chapters
1. Chapter 1

sooo, this fanfic is set in AU where Kurt and Blaine are wizards, attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I suck at summaries, though, so i won't even attempt one. :) r&r!

_Disclaimers:_ no, I do not own Glee, Harry Potter or any of it's characters or environments.

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><p>"Blaine, honey, are you sure you have everything? Did you remember to pack your favourite sweater? Have you got your owl? Are your school robes packed? Oh, sweetie, are you sure you are ready for this-"<p>

Blaine Anderson, aged 11, was standing on the platform next to the Hogwarts Express. He was just about to board the famous train for the first time in his life to begin the journey to Hogwarts castle. There he would be spending the following seven years, with the exception of holidays and summer vacation during which the students were allowed to go home, in order to become a proper wizard.

He was really excited, but also very embarrassed because his mother was fussing so over him and he didn't want all the other kids to think he was a mommy's boy.

"Mom! I'm fine, stop worrying", he said and pushed her off of him as she attempted to pull him into a teary hug.

"He's right, you mustn't worry. He'll do fine. He's an Anderson, after all", Blaine's father said proudly.

Blaine swelled a little with pride. Ever since he was little he had been told how grand it was to be an Anderson. It was one of the purest wizarding families left and they highly valued their blood-status.

"Now, son, you must go before you miss the train", Mr Anderson continued.

Blaine tried to swallow the lump in his throat. Though he didn't wish to admit it, he was really nervous about going to Hogwarts. And he was nervous about leaving his mother, because he had never really been away from her.

His older brother Terry was in his third year, but other than him he didn't know anyone who would be starting or already went to the school. Blaine and Terry were not the best of friends. They rarely talked to each other at all actually. Blaine had the feeling that being Terry brother wouldn't do him any good at Hogwarts.

He was going to pick on Blaine all the time, he and his friends would bully him into insanity and he wouldn't be allowed to get anything but the best remarks on his tests, even though Blaine knew that Terry himself was a mediocre student.

He just wished Terry had went to Durmstrang instead, as it was originally planned. It was a wizarding school for people who were particularly interested in dark magic. If he could start all over at Hogwarts, without Terry, then he would be truly excited to go. But now he was mostly worried.

Terry was mean, cocky and superior in every way. He was the ultimate Slytherin.

Blaine had been raised with the belief that pure-bloods were the only people in the world who actually mattered. He was constantly told and reminded how he needed to get sorted into the Slytherin House, to keep their family honour. For as long as anyone could remember, the entire Anderson family had been in that particular House and they took great honour in it.

He didn't know if he was worthy of being in Slytherin. He had always been more sensitive and compassionate than his family, who mostly just spent their time hating people.  
>But he didn't really have a choice. He had to get sorted into Slytherin.<p>

His mother blew her nose in a handkerchief and then wrapped her arms around her youngest son for the last time before he stepped up on the train with Terry.

"Terry, take care of your brother and keep him out of trouble", she said fondly to her eldest son.

"Of course, mom", Terry said and shot Blaine a nasty smile.

Blaine waved to his mother and father as the train slowly started to roll out of the station.

When he couldn't see them anymore, he turned to his luggage with a heavy sigh.  
>He struggled with all of his belongings as he went through the train to find an empty compartment.<p>

Everywhere was full and he could feel panic rising within him. Was his entire school time going to be like this?

Then he came to a compartment with only one other occupant. He slid the door open and peered in.

"Excuse me, could I sit here? Everywhere else is full", he asked as politely as he could manage while being absolutely breathless.

The other person, a boy, jumped slightly and turned towards him.

He was quite pale and he had big, clear blue eyes.

"Oh, of course", he answered.

Blaine was surprised by his unusually high-pitched voice. But it wasn't an annoying sort of voice. It was actually really nice and soft.

"Do you need help with your trunk?", the boy asked as Blaine struggled to keep the door open whilst pulling the trunk into the compartment at the same time.

"I think I do", Blaine said with an embarrassed smile.

Together they managed to get the trunk from the hall into the compartment and then up on the luggage shelf where the other boy's trunk already lay.

"Thanks", Blaine panted as they both sat down on each side of the compartment, exhausted from lifting Blaine's heavy luggage. The other boy gracefully placed one leg over the other, his hands grasping his knees and his back incredibly straight.

"You're welcome. My name is Kurt Hummel", the boy said and held out his hand.

"Blaine Anderson", he replied and shook the boy's hand.

"Are you a first-year too?", Kurt asked curiously.

"Yeah", Blaine nodded.

"Oh, great! Maybe we'll get sorted into the same House", Kurt said excitedly.

"That would be really cool!", Blaine agreed. "Do you have any siblings at Hogwarts?"

"No, I have a brother at home but he's a Muggle", Kurt said casually. "Do you?"

Blaine's jaw dropped. How could he speak so shamelessly about such things?  
>If Terry or Blaine had lacked magical powers their parents would surely have thrown them out, or at least hid them and pretended they didn't exist.<p>

"He's a Muggle? Aren't you ashamed?", he asked.

Kurt frowned.

"Why would I be ashamed? My parents are Muggles too", he said.

Blaine gasped.

"You're Muggle born?", he asked quietly.

Kurt shifted his weight nervously.

"Well, yes. I-is that bad?", he asked.

Blaine remained silent. What was he supposed to say?

His entire life he had been told how horrible and untrustworthy Muggle borns were. How they infected the wizarding world with their presence. Blaine had never been a hateful person but having those pure-blood manias around him constantly for eleven years of course made him believe them. Why would his parents lie to him?

But then there was Kurt, the first Muggle born that he had ever met. And he seemed genuinely nice and not one single thing about him fitted with the descriptions of Muggle borns that his parents had told him. He didn't know what to think.

"I- um. Have you ever heard of pure-bloods?", he asked carefully.

"No, I haven't, sorry. I don't know very much about the wizarding world, to be honest", Kurt said.

Blaine hesitated for a while. Then he decided to put it out of his mind. There was nothing he could do right now anyway. He couldn't just walk away, because he had no where else to sit.

"It doesn't matter", he said finally.

Kurt looked really confused, but then he too seemed to decide not to ponder over things too much.

"Have you read all the books on the list for this term? I didn't know how prepared we are supposed to be because I couldn't really ask my family like other kids could, because they wouldn't know either", Kurt said anxiously.

"I've flicked through them but that's about it", Blaine said with a stiff laugh.

"Oh, wow, I really overdid it, then. I memorized all the books so I know them all by heart. I was afraid I'd be behind everyone else in my year because my family are Muggles", Kurt sighed.

Blaine quirked an eyebrow.

"That's impossible. You can't have them all memorized. They're like 500 pages per book", he said.

"Try me!", Kurt said with a daring smile.

He opened the bag he had next to him, pulled out their Potions text book and handed it to Blaine.  
>He flipped the book open randomly, chose a part of the page and created a question.<br>Kurt answered correctly on an instant.

Blaine shot an enormous amount of questions at him from different pages from all of their different class literatures. It wasn't until two hours of fits of laughter, frustration and hysteria that Kurt finally answered a question falsely.

Blaine jumped up from his seat and cried, "YES!"

They were having so much fun that Blaine completely forgot to feel bad about making friends with a Muggle born. They got along really well and they made each other laugh a lot.

Blaine found out that Kurt was interested in fashion in his spare time. He also loved to listen to music, dance, sing and he was really committed to his school work. He was very intellectual and he read quite a lot.  
>The more they talked, the more they came to like each other.<p>

Blaine had never really had a proper friend. He had never spent time with kids his age because he could only play with pure-bloods and Terry scared all the other kids away from playing with Blaine.

The two of them had always been rivals, but Blaine never sunk to Terry's level of cruelness. He was a real bully.

"Do you want to play a game of chess?", Kurt asked suddenly.

"I'd love to! I haven't played for months", Blaine said excitedly.

Kurt nodded happily. Then he buried his head in his bag, rummaging through it in the search for something. Soon he pulled out a wooden box and a small folded square, also made out of wood.

He started to unfold the square, and it soon transformed into a chess board. He then opened the wooden box and, one by one, he took out the little chess figures and carefully put them on their places on the board.

Blaine watched, transfixed with the movements of Kurt's hands.

Kurt smiled sheepishly when he had finished setting everything up.

"My grandpa gave me this on my eight birthday. It was two days before he passed away, and this is the only thing I have left to remember him by, so I try to take care of it as well as I can", he explained and smiled fondly at his board.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that", Blaine said quietly.

Kurt shook his head and offered a gentle half-smile.

"Don't be. Let's play instead. You make the first move", he said and leaned back in his seat to watch Blaine ponder over his possibilities.


	2. Chapter 2

They sat there for hours, focusing on nothing but the chess board and each others moves.

Blaine found himself more and more often admiring Kurt and his body expressions. How he slowly rubbed his fingers against his knuckles when he was nervous, or how his forehead got slightly wrinkled when he thought over his next move. Or how he smiled at Blaine when he took his tower piece because Blaine was too distracted to have even noticed the threat, or how he still sat with his back straight as a board with his legs crossed even after they had been playing for several hours.

He was just so fascinating, and Blaine couldn't wait to get to know him better.

But in the back of his mind there was a small voice telling him they could never be friends.  
>As soon as Terry found out about Kurt's family, he would send an owl to their parents and Blaine would get a raging Howler at the breakfast table. He should just back off and not get attached to Kurt, because if he actually grew to like him then he would be in all kinds of trouble.<p>

They couldn't be seen together, and how were you supposed to have a secret friendship at Hogwarts? They would never get sorted into the same House, because no one in Slytherin was a Muggle born, and Blaine _had_ to get in to Slytherin. So he just had to accept that they had to go their separate ways once they arrived to the school.

"Are you okay? You seem worried."

Kurt's voice broke into his quiet sphere and he jumped slightly at the sound.  
>Kurt had packed away the board and the chess figures, and was now looking straight at Blaine.<p>

"Oh, um, yeah. I guess", Blaine answered offhandedly.

"Are you sure? If you tell me what's wrong, maybe I can help", Kurt suggested.

Blaine gave him a few valuing looks. Should he tell about the pure-blood mania he had had forced upon him while growing up? Then he could properly explain why they couldn't be friends. Otherwise he just had to ignore Kurt at Hogwarts, and he would think that Blaine was a total douche bag. Which he would still think if he found out that Blaine didn't want to be his friend only because of his heritage. It wasn't like it was Kurt's fault he wasn't raised in the magical community.

Blaine shifted his weight uncomfortably and glanced at Kurt, who looked intently at him.  
>Then he sighed.<p>

"Look, I don't know how much you know about the wizarding world but there are some people who are what people call pure-bloods", he said.

"What does that mean?", Kurt asked curiously.

"It means they, or _we_, only have magical blood in our families. Or at least for the most part, with a few exceptions. And- well, I've been raised to believe that because I'm a pure-blood wizard I am better than other wizards, like you, who are Muggle born or have mixed parents. According to my parents, you are a less worthy human being because your family doesn't know magic", Blaine said.

He could see the hurt in Kurt's eyes, and it made him feel extremely guilty. He had never questioned his upbringing, but meeting this single boy made everything he believed in crumble. How can your family history mark you so completely that all your other skills or talents goes forgotten? Just because Kurt has Muggle parents doesn't mean he's any less of a person. On the contrary, he seemed much better than Blaine, because he was open-minded and funny and polite and very kind.

Kurt bit his lip.

"Do you think that as well?", he asked finally.

Blaine hesitated. Then he glanced towards the door to make sure it was firmly shut. Then he locked his gaze on his shoes so he didn't have to look at Kurt.

"I did. But now, I- I'm not so sure", he confessed.

Kurt nodded slowly. Then he looked out the window, still biting his lip.

"Look, I know I'm coming off like the worst person in the world right now. But you have to understand, I've never really been around other people much. I have only been allowed to play with pure-bloods and my brother wanted me to be miserable so he scared everyone away so I wouldn't have anyone to play with. I'm socially crippled, honestly. All I've ever heard is how my family is better than everyone else because of our blood but then I met you, the first Muggle born I've ever met, and you are much nicer and kinder than all the pure-bloods I know combined. And I mean, how can you possibly be a bad person just because your family aren't wízards and witches?", Blaine said.

He was more debating with himself than he was actually talking to Kurt.

"It sounds like you've had a rough childhood", Kurt said softly.

Blaine looked up at him. Then he nodded.

"You could say so", he muttered.

"So- I guess we can't be friends, then", Kurt said after a while of silence.

"I don't know. I really like you, but my parents would dishonour me if we were friends. I have to get into Slytherin House and they don't accept Muggle borns, and it's almost impossible to be friends with people from other Houses and I-", Blaine began.

"We can't be friends because your family would throw you out. It's okay, I understand", Kurt said.

Blaine's insides were squirming. He really didn't want to say goodbye to Kurt.

"Don't feel bad. As long as _you_ don't hate me, I completely understand. We don't even know each other, it would be ridiculous if you were to throw your entire family away just because of me", Kurt said.

"But I-", Blaine began.

Kurt silenced him with a gentle smile.

"Don't worry about it. Now, would you like to help me finish off all the food my mom packed for me or would you prefer practising to ignore one another?", he asked with a wink.

Blaine pretended to hesitate.

"Depends on what food you can offer."

"Oh, you wouldn't be interested. It's just Muggle food, you know", Kurt smiled.

Blaine lit up.

"Really? Could I try some? I've never been allowed to before", he said.

Kurt laughed.

"Sure", he said.

In return, Blaine offered Kurt some of the food he had brought himself. Kurt's entire face lit up and he literally skipped with joy as he walked over to Blaine, sat down next to him and carefully looked over the candy he had spread out on the table in front of him.  
>Kurt picked a Chocolate Frog, and squealed in fright when the frog jumped up from the box and disappeared from view.<p>

"Where did it go?", he cried and pulled his legs up on to the seat.

Blaine left his seat and got down on his knees and looked around on the floor.

"I don't know, it must have disappeared somehow. Maybe it went out the door, there's a small crack at the bottom", he said thoughtfullt.

Then he straightened up and returned to his seat.  
>He noticed that Kurt was still looking around carefully and for some reason not daring to move.<p>

"Are you- Kurt, are you afraid of frogs?", Blaine asked hesitantly.

Kurt's head snapped in his direction. A deep blush crept across his face.

"I- yeah. I had this incident when I was like 5 and my cousin pretended to put a frog in my hair and I was really terrified and he just kept teasing me even though I told him to stop. And I've been terrified of them ever since. They can't be trusted!", Kurt said and his voice was even more high-pitched than usual.

Blaine tried to suffocate a laugh.

"Then why did you choose the Chocolate Frog in the first place?", he asked.

"Because I'm getting really nervous about arriving to Hogwarts, and chocolate and music are the only things that helps when I'm nervous, and you didn't have any other chocholates, so-", Kurt said.

"Ah, makes sense. I bet I have some chocolate in my trunk, though", Blaine said.

He got up and was about to pull his trunk down when Kurt stopped him.

"Thanks for the offer, but it's not worth taking your whole trunk down and then heaving it up again just for a piece of chocolate. I'll be fine", he said.

Blaine shrugged and sat down again.

They returned to the candy, and Kurt received many more surprises. He tried about ten different Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans and every single one was thoroughly disgusting.

Blaine was rolling around on the floor laughing at all the different face expressions Kurt pulled as he tried a new flavour.  
>Suddenly they both felt the train slow down.<p>

"Oh crap, we must be there already! We haven't changed into robes yet", Blaine cursed and quickly got their trunks down from the luggage shelf.

They quickly changed, turned away from each other, and then shoved all their candy and food into their bags.  
>Blaine tried to ignore the feeling of panic that rose within him when he thought of how this could very possibly be the last time the two of them spoke.<br>Once they've finished packing, the train had stopped completely. They were told to leave their luggage behind. Blaine slipped a piece of owl candy into the cage of his snow white owl before they left the compartment.

"Are we supposed to leave our pets too?", Kurt asked anxiously.

He didn't have an owl, but he did have a big white cat with black and grey spots all over its body.  
>Its eyes were quite similar to Kurt's: big and clear blue. It was really beautiful – another similarity to Kurt.<p>

"I think so", Blaine said and firmly pushed away all thoughts of Kurt's appearance.

Yes, he was a pretty boy. So what if Blaine noticed? It didn't _mean_ anything.

They left the compartment and stepped down onto the platform next to the train.

They were surrounded by students, mostly first-years as they unconciously gathered at the far end of the platform.  
>Suddenly, an extremely big man appeared and started shouting to the first-years to get them to follow him. Blaine and Kurt looked at each other and carefully edged closer to the man as they were among the few who had heard him over the soar of the crowd.<br>The other students, second-years up to seventh-years, slowly filed off the platform and left the first-years standing there with the big man.

Kurt and Blaine kept close to each other as they only had each other in the crowd.

"Right, first-years, follow me!", the man bellowed and turned around to lead them off the platform.

The timid eleven year olds followed him through the dark, until they reached a great lake. Along the shore were small boats waiting for them. The man told them to pair up and get a boat, so Blaine and Kurt naturally chose each other. They found an unoccupied boat and settled down. And then, without any oars, the boats started to float across the pitch-black lake.

Kurt gasped softly as the great castle came into view with its hundreds of lit up windows, tall towers and sharp contures. Blaine was also completely dazzled by the beauty of Hogwarts castle.  
>But he couldn't help but glance at Kurt instead of admiring the castle.<p>

Kurt's face was really beautiful in the light of the castle, and he looked so genuinely happy. It made Blaine's heart melt slightly. Soon Kurt turned to him with the brightest smile Blaine had ever seen.

"Isn't it _magical_!", he sighed happily.

Blaine smiled back. "Yeah. It is."

Soon the boats reached the shore on the other side, and the students were told to walk across the grounds and up til the castle's front doors.  
>They all stopped in front of it, and Blaine could <em>feel<em> the nervousness of his fellow students as the doors slowly opened and allowed them inside.  
>They all huddled together in the hall, freezing and shaking from the chill outside.<p>

"Shouldn't have left my jacket in my trunk", Blaine muttered quietly to Kurt who nodded his agreement.

Soon they were welcomed by a witch coming down a great staircase. She had a roll of parchment in her hands, a pointed green hat on her head and a stern expression on her face.

She introduced herself as professor Sue Sylvester, Head of Slytherin House and teacher for Potions.

"Welcome to Hogwarts. You will momentarily be sorted into your different Houses. They are: Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. Your House will be your home while you are here. If you do good, you can earn your House points. Should you disobey rules, your House will instead lose points. At the end of each school year, the House Cup is rewarded to the House with the most points. Now, I suggest you do whatever you can to make yourselves look slightly less unattractive while I go see if they're ready for us."

The witch turned on her heel and disappeared through another pair of huge doors.

"Oh my god, I've never been more nervous in my entire life."

"What if I don't get elected for any House? Is that possible? Could they send me home?"

"I'll rather _die_ than get sorted into Hufflepuff. My sister says-"

Blaine heard all sorts of comments around him, but he was far too nervous to say anything.

He kept his gaze firmly on the floor, afraid to make eye-contact with anyone. He honestly had no idea how to interract with other people. For some reason he had just clicked instantly with Kurt, but all these other kids- it didn't feel as if he would get any friends at all here. He sighed heavily.

"Don't be nervous. You'll do great", he heard a whisper from his right.

It was Kurt. He smiled reassuringly and patted Blaine on the shoulder.

"What if I don't get sorted into Slytherin? I don't- my family would kill me", he whispered back.

"Of course you'll get sorted into Slytherin, if that's what you want. And hey, if you don't, you could always emigrate to Africa or something and become a farmer", Kurt said with a wink.

Blaine couldn't help but laugh, which earned him a few shocked looks from the other first-years who couldn't understand who anyone in this position could feel the urge to laugh.

Then professor Sylvester returned and told them to follow her. The doors to the Great Hall swung open and the first-years filed in, pairwise.  
>In the Great Hall there were five tables: one for each House and a staff table at the front where all the teachers and the headmaster sat.<p>

All over the room, thousands of lit candles were floating around the room. But the most marvellous thing about the Great Hall was the ceiling. It looked as if someone had simply lifted the roof up off the building. It looked exactly as the night sky outside the castle, with thousands of tiny stars and clouds and the clear silvery moon. Blaine heard Kurt gasp softly beside him.

They exchanged smiles and then returned their gaze to the seiling above.  
>The other first-years were doing the same, whispering excitedly to each other.<p>

Soon they were stopped by professor Sylvester in front of the staff table. The entire school was watching them and it made Blaine feel extremely uncomfortable. As he glanced around he could tell he was not alone for feeling very exposed and insecure.

Professor Sylvester had put a wooden chair with three legs next to her. She stood in front of the staff table, and was even taller than the children than usual because the floor beneath her was slightly elevated compared to where the first-years where standing. There was a small stair with three steps that led up to her.

"In order to get sorted into one of the respective Houses, you need to sit down and place this hat on your head", she instructed and pointed to a ragged hat that was placed upon the chair.

The hat was apparently a living object. Not too surprising, of course, because it _was_ a school for magic after all. It had a deep wrinkle that represented a mouth and slits for eyes.

Professor Sylvester unrolled the parchment she held in her hand, and began reading out names.

"Adria, Georgette!"

A girl with long, blonde hair that almost reached her elbows stumbled out from the crowd and up on the podium. She sat down on the chair, quite clumsily, and pulled the hat down over her ears.

Silence filled the Great Hall as the hat simply sat on her head. Blaine got the feeling that it was talking to her, because she nodded and shook her head a few times.  
>And then, all of the sudden, the hat cried out "RAVENCLAW!" so loudly that all the first-years flinched. A few even yelped in surprise.<p>

This went on, until-

"Anderson, Blaine!"

Blaine completely froze in horror and it felt impossible to move.  
>But then Kurt grabbed his elbow and leaned in slightly towards him.<p>

"Guess this is goodbye. Good luck", he whispered before he pushed Blaine forwards so he too stumbled onto the stage.

He felt like crying because he was so nervous.  
>His eyes darted to the Slytherin table where his brother was sitting, looking malicious as always.<br>Blaine was sure he hoped his brother wouldn't make it to Slytherin so he could run and send their parents an owl, telling them how much of a disappointment Blaine was.

No. He had to succeed with this.  
>With a new found determination, he sat down on the chair and put the hat on his head.<br>In his ear, he heard a very quiet voice that obviously belonged to the hat.

"_Hmm, where to put you? A great mind, I must say, and lots of courage. Perhaps Gryffindor?_"

Blaine entire body freezed.

"No, no, no, please! Please, Slytherin, please, please", he whispered hysterically.

"_Hm, are you sure about that? You would do great in Gryffindor. You have all the qualities they desire: courage, kindness, strong sense of love and friendship... no? Alright then-"_

Blaine had never felt so sick to his stomach. He had his eyes closed and on his eyelids played the excruciatingly painful scene where he was to tell his parents he hadn't made it to Slytherin on repeat. But then-

"SLYTHERIN!"

He felt his body relax as soon as that word was bellowed out to the Great Hall.  
>He jumped off the chair, handed professor Sylvester the hat and practically skipped off the platform to the Slytherin table. They were all cheering, and before he sat down he could see Kurt's face in the crowd of the still waiting first-years. He smiled proudly and held up his hand slightly to show off his fingers, which were firmly crossed.<p>

Blaine grinned even wider at this, even though it at the same time sent a pang of disappointment through him.  
>How was he supposed to let go of the only friend he had ever had?<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

It had been two years, and now they were both in their third year at Hogwarts.  
>Blaine and Kurt hadn't spoken since that first sorting ceremony. Not properly, at least. Every once in a while they had gotten paired together for group assignments, because Slytherin and Gryffindor had some classes together. But they never talked any more than necessary.<p>

Sometimes they saw each other in the hallways, and Blaine could always _feel_ when Kurt was around, but neither attempted to make any real contact. Sometimes they exchanged smiles when their gazes met through the crowd, but mostly it was just Blaine glancing at Kurt while he was busy talking to his friends or doing his homework in the library. Kurt had made plenty of friends, and he seemed happy without Blaine. Of course he was happy, why wouldn't he be?

Blaine had successfully been sorted into Slytherin, and Kurt had been chosen as a Gryffindor.

This made their friendship even more impossible since the Houses of Slytherin and Gryffindor were mortal enemies. A Slytherin weren't allowed to be friends with a Gryffindor, and vice versa.

"Blaine, get up! It's six o'clock, you have to wake up! _Blaine_!"

Blaine woke with a start, not sure where he was or even what year it was.

As his gaze slowly found its focus, his mind started to catch up.

He was in his bed in his dorm down in the Slytherin dungeons, and his friend Sebastian was jumping around on his bed.

"Get off", he moaned and stuck his head under his pillow to drown out the sound of his friend's voice.

"_Get up_! I told you yesterday we had to wake up early", Sebastian said and pulled the covers off of Blaine.

"Why?", Blaine shouted. He had never been an morning person and this whole thing made him want to scream his lungs out.

He just wanted to go back to sleep. He had had such a nice dream -

"We're going to prank the Gryffindors, don't you remember? I swear, Blaine, you're the most absent-minded person I know", Sebastian said with a laugh.

"Do we have to?", Blaine asked crossly.

"Yes! Don't chicken out! We've had this one thought out for weeks and this is the perfect moment to do it. They're at Quidditch practise", Sebastian said excitedly.

Blaine had never seen the point in all these pranks that he and his friends played on the Gryffindors.  
>They were cruel and humiliating, and Blaine got no pleasure out of it as his friends did.<p>

It was pointless, really, because the only thing he got was humiliation in return as the Gryffindors took their revenge.

In that way he was a terrible Slytherin. He sometimes glanced longingly at the other Houses, because they were all much friendlier and much, much kinder.

Blaine's friends were nice to him, of course, but only because he was a pure-blood. They were horrible to the other kids at Hogwarts. When the teachers turned their backs they would write notes and slip them to the Muggle borns, telling them how ugly or useless they were.

Blaine never participated in those notes, though. He always excused himself with a simple "I need to work", and he would be left alone. But he felt terrible for not helping the poor kids who got bullied by his friends all the time. It wasn't in his nature to be mean to other people, but he still had to every once in a while so his friends would get off his back and let him be for a while longer.

"Trent and Puck are waiting in the common room. Hurry up and get dressed!", Sebastian said and dashed from the room.

Blaine laid still for a few seconds, staring up into the roof and wondering if life was really supposed to be like this. He wasn't really _miserable_, but he hadn't imagined his time at Hogwarts to be like this, either. He felt like all his friends were frauds, and they only hung out with him because his family was well-known for their pure blood-status, and he had loads of famous relatives that his friends adored.

Sometimes he was quite happy with his life. He did have friends (even if he didn't always appreciate them), he wasn't bullied and his grades were satisfying.

But then he compared these things to, for example, Kurt and his friends. They were always laughing and making jokes – friendly jokes, not cruel ones. They seemed to genuinely like each other, they helped each other out and supported one another in ways Blaine was positive_ his_ friends would never do for him.

Sometimes he wished he could simply trade lives with them, or anyone at all that wasn't in Slytherin. He had the constant pressure of fitting into the folder for pure-bloods. He couldn't afford to do anything wrong because then his 'friends' would freeze him out and he would be left to being bullied by them for the rest of his school years.

No matter how much he wanted to, he couldn't help the victims of his friends' so-called jokes. He couldn't defend them when his friends yelled "Mudblood!" after them in the hallways.

Finally, he got himself together and got out of bed. He pulled on a regular t-shirt and a pair of jeans since it was Saturday and they had no classes and therefore weren't required to wear school robes. He hesitated for a few seconds, then knelt down beside his trunk and rummaged through it for a while before he found what he was looking for.

His hands trembled slightly as he pulled out a small plastic box. He opened it and picked up the little deep purple bow tie that was packed inside it. He pulled on the white dress shirt he usually wore beneath his school robes and tied the bow tie around his neck. Then he took one quick look at himself in the mirror that was hanging on the wall opposite of his bed.

_"Not too bad",_ he thought to himself.

He considered taking it off but then decided to leave it on.

It wasn't all that radical, and surely an innocent little bow tie couldn't lose him his friends. Right?  
>It was humiliating how much control they had over his life and his choices, without even realising it.<p>

When he reached the common room, they were waiting impatiently for him.

"What took you so long? We don't have much time!", Sebastian whispered urgently.

Then he noticed the bow tie, and a slightly twisted smirk flashed across his face.

"Nice", he said and suffocated a laugh.

Blaine ignored it and tried not to let it get to him.  
>He <em>hated<em> being this limited. He had always been fond of bow ties, but once in his first year he had been told that they were ridiculous and tacky, so he hadn't had the courage to wear one again.

He walked past them to the hidden entrance door and walked out without looking back to see if they followed him. They did, he noticed, as Trent jogged up to his side.  
>They slowly crept through the dark castle, carefully glancing around every corner to look for teachers or students who were also out on early adventures.<p>

"What have you guys planned?", Blaine whispered to Trent who was crouching next to him.

"I'll tell you when we get out of the castle", he whispered back.

Soon they had reached the Entrance Hall. They quietly slipped out through the giant doors.

"Well?", Blaine said as they stepped outside.

The cold morning air hit them ruthlessly as soon as their feet touched the icy ground, and Blaine instantly wished he had remembered to bring his cloak.

"We're going to set loose a bunch of fireworks in the middle of their Quidditch practise. Chang will have a mental break down", Sebastian said with a mean smile.

Blaine hesitated for a few seconds. It didn't sound fun at all.

But then his friends started to look suspicious, so he faked a smile and said that it sounded great.

They quickly made their way from the castle down to the Quidditch pitch.

It was mid October and the grounds were icy and incredibly slippery in the morning.

Blaine almost slipped a dozen of times only during the walk down to the pitch, a time period of ten minutes. A light fog was hanging in the air, blending in with the small clouds coming from the four teenagers' mouths as they breathed.

They could hear the swishing of brooms and the shouts of the players at a far distance.

"Okay, who wants to light them?", Sebastian whispered maliciously as they gathered right by the entrance to the Quidditch pitch. He was kind of their leader, so he always got to decide who did what during their various pranks.

They all glanced at each other, no one volunteering. They all knew that the guilt would fall on the one who lit them if they were caught in the action.

"Trent, why don't you do it?", Puck suggested quickly as Sebastian was beginning to turn to him.

Sebastian turned in mid-air and instead turned to Trent and handed him the fireworks with a small smirk.  
>Trent was the weakest link of their little gang, so to speak. He always got blamed for everything, because he never had the guts to stand up for himself.<p>

He swallowed with some difficulty and took the fireworks in his arms. He put them down on the ground, aimed them against the pitch and lit them with his wand.  
>It only took a few milliseconds until they went off and soared onto the pitch, exploding and sending waves of multicoloured sparks in every direction. It was beautiful, really, with all those colours in contrast to the grey, foggy morning air.<p>

But, of course, the Gryffindors wouldn't care if the fireworks were in every colour of the rainbow or completely lacked colour at all – it still interrupted their precious practise time.

They could hear furious yells coming from the Gryffindor team as they ran off the pitch to avoid getting hit by the sparks.

"We'd better get out of here", Puck said as the voices came nearer to their hiding place.

They all turned around to run up to the castle again, but found that the exit was blocked by someone standing in the way. They all stopped in their tracks, staring wide-eyed at the person who had his arms folded across his chest and his eyebrows raised slightly.

"Practising for New Years Eve?", he said calmly.

It was Kurt, of all people.

Blaine tried to shrink into the background, hoping intensely that Kurt wouldn't see him.  
>He hated the thought of Kurt thinking he was just another Slytherin bully.<br>Since Kurt was blocking the way out, his fellow Gryffindors caught up with them.

"_Sebastian_", Mike Chang growled. He was the Captain of the Gryffindor team.

"This is the fourth time you've sabotaged my training sessions in the past week! I'm telling on you", he continued furiously.

Sebastian plastered on a confident smile, even though Blaine could tell he was nervous.

"Oh, really? What evidence do you have?", he asked.

Mike opened his mouth to speak and then closed it again, his jaws clenched so tightly it seemed as if they would break any second.

"But Kurt saw it, didn't you?", a girl from the Gryffindor team said. Blaine didn't know her name, but he had seen her plenty of times around school.

They all turned to Kurt, who nodded.

"Yeah, but-", he began.

"That settles it. Come on, Kurt, we're going to see professor Schuester. He will listen to us", the girl said and made a move to go up to Kurt.

Professor Schuester was the Head of Gryffindor House.

"Why would he believe you over us?", Puck asked fiercely.

"Because we're all nice, honest people who are trying to practise Quidditch in peace while you lot are a bunch of mischievous, cheating Slytherins who won't leave us alone", Mike snapped.

Blaine could feel his face grow redder and redder by the second. He wished he could blend into the wall next to him and just disappear from view.

"Maybe we shouldn't tell-", Kurt began slowly.

"Are you mental? If we tell professor Schuester what they've been doing, he'll have them suspended! Or at least he'll make sure they won't bother us again. Give me one reason not to tell on them!", a boy said from somewhere behind Wood.

"I just- I don't think it's worth the trouble. We don't _really_ have any evidence anyway. Professor Schuester will have to tell professor Sylvester in order to suspend them, and she will just say I've made it all up to mess with them. She's never been very fond of me, or either of us. So what's the point?", Kurt said.

His eyes darted to Blaine who met his gaze by mistake. It sent another shiver of shame through him.

"But _maybe_-", Mike began.

"You do whatever you want to. I'm going to get some breakfast", Kurt said firmly and turned his back on them.

Mike and his team sighed in unison.

"Just because you got away with it this time doesn't mean you will next time you try to mess with us", Mike said angrily.

Then he turned to his team and they walked back out on to the pitch.

Sebastian laughed as soon as they were out of earshot.

"Success! It's lucky they are a bunch of cowards so they won't dare tell on us", he said.

"Yeah. What now? Should we go get some breakfast too? I'm starving", Trent said.

"Yeah, me too. Having this much fun really gives an appetite, doesn't it?", Puck laughed.

Blaine kept quiet. He glanced up towards the castle, where he could still see Kurt's back as he disappeared up the grass slope.

He and his friends followed him at a safe distant, slowly strolling across the grounds up to the castle. The frost on the ground had started to melt in the morning sun, and the entire property was bathing in sunlight.

Blaine didn't say much as they walked back. He tried to take in the beauty of his surroundings, but he couldn't focus. As they reached the Great Hall, he excused himself.

"I've got to go check on something in my room. I'll see you later."

They didn't bother to ask him any follow-up questions. They settled for a nod of comprehension and then went to eat their breakfast.

But Blaine didn't go down to his room. Instead he waited outside the Great Hall, pretending to be tying his shoe laces, until Kurt walked out the doors with two pieces of toast in his hands.

"Kurt! Could I talk to you for a second?", he called out.

Kurt looked really surprised at being approached by him.

"Oh. Of course", he said.

Blaine glanced into the Great Hall to see if they were visible from the Slytherin table.

"Could we- could we go somewhere more private?", he asked nervously.

"What did you have in mind?", Kurt asked and took a bite of his toast. Then he offered the other one to Blaine, who just stared blankly at him.

"Why are you offering me food when I just sabotaged your friends' Quidditch practise?", he asked.

Kurt shrugged and took another bite.

"Because I know you're not doing it out of spite but because you have no other choice", he said simply.

Blaine kept staring at him. Then he shook his head in disbelief.

"I wish I could be more like you", he muttered.

Kurt smiled.

"Don't say that."

He offered him the piece of toast again, and this time Blaine accepted it.  
>He was starving.<p>

"Now, you said you wanted to go somewhere else to talk, do you have any suggestions?", Kurt asked.

"Right", Blaine said. "Follow me."

He started to walk away from him, away from the Great Hall and any potential Slytherin who might overhear their conversation.  
>He stopped when they got to a deserted hallway. He turned to Kurt who nearly walked into him, still eating his toast. Kurt nodded attentively, urging him to talk.<p>

"So, uh, I wanted to apologise. For the whole firework-thing. I didn't want to do it, although that doesn't justify doing it anyway. And, well, thanks for not telling professor Schuester", Blaine said hesitantly.

Kurt shrugged the apology off.

"No problem. I would hate to get you into any kind of trouble", he said.

Then his gaze fell on Blaine's bow tie.  
>Blaine had expected him to make fun of it, but instead he leaned in slightly and touched it carefully with one of his fingers.<br>He looked impressed.

"Wow, Blaine, you _do_ have great sense in clothes", he commented as he leaned back again.

Blaine quirked an eyebrow.

"You sound surprised", he said.

"I haven't had much to judge on earlier. I only ever see you in your school robes", Kurt said.

"You have a point", Blaine agreed.

Kurt smiled suddenly. It caught Blaine off-guard and almost made him stumble upon his own feet.  
>Kurt had a really beautiful smile.<p>

"Well, then, was there anything else you wanted to say?", he asked.

"No, I guess not", Blaine said.

Kurt nodded. He looked down on his shoes.

"Well, I should go. My friend Mercedes is waiting for me", Kurt said after a few moments of uncomfortable silence.

"Oh. Right. Of course", Blaine said, still feeling slightly dizzy from that dazzling smile.

He tried to think of something to say that would make Kurt linger for just a few more moments, but nothing came to mind. Absolutely nothing.

And before he could do anything about it, Kurt had given him another breathtaking smile and walked away with a simple "I'll see you around".  
>Blaine watched him as he disappeared down the hall.<br>As soon as he was out of sight, he leaned back against the nearest wall and closed his eyes.

Why hadn't he given up on Kurt yet? It had been over two years since that day on the train.  
>Why couldn't he stop thinking about him? Kurt obviously had.<p>

But just as Kurt was about to turn the last corner before leaving the hallway where he had left Blaine, he stopped and looked back at the boy who was currently looking more like a broken shell of a person than a real thirteen year old boy. He hesitated for a few seconds: should he go back? Maybe he could bring some small comfort to him, even if they could never really be friends.

But then he saw Blaine stir and straighten up, and Kurt quickly turned the corner so he was safely hidden from view.  
>With his soul, heart and mind completely filled to the brim with sorrow he walked away.<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

I've done some changes in the previous chapters, because I had this idea that instead of making up all new characters or using Harry Potter-characters I should just take people from Glee and put them in here instead. So I've changed the Harry Potter-characters and the ones I made up into Glee-characters, so you should probably re-read the previous chapters, otherwise this will be really confusing. Sorry for making this so weird! I just think it's better this way. Please tell me if there's something I've forgotten to change or if there's something that doesn't make sense...

* * *

><p>"Is this really necessary?"<p>

"Of course it is. You want to be on the team, don't you?"

"Yes, but-"

"Alright then. We'll wait for you here."

"Anxiously", a third voice added with obvious mockery.

Blaine sighed deeply.

"What for?", he asked.

"Because Karofsky wants you to know their strategies so you can outsmart them when we play them in November", Sebastian said impatiently.

Sebastian, Puck and Trent were spread out casually across the Slytherin common room, lying down on the green leather couches and stuffing themselves full with food they stole from the kitchens.

"But-", Blaine began, but he was instantly cut off.

"Let me put it in a way you'll understand: find a way to get into their practise or you'll get kicked off the team. Karofsky says he has plenty of Seekers lined up to take your spot", Sebastian said firmly.

Blaine opened his mouth to say something very nasty, but decided against it.

"Fine", he spat and left the common room without another word.

In September, when all the Houses held open auditions for their Quidditch teams, Blaine had decided to try out. First-years weren't allowed to, but second-years up to seventh-years were.

Last year he hadn't felt confident enough, but after a year of intense training he finally did it.  
>And, oddly enough, he actually placed on the team. He had auditioned as the Seeker, and the others who applied for the post were all really good so he didn't expect to succeed. But Blaine was smaller and faster than the other Seekers, and he was well used to brooms because he had handled them since he was a very small child.<p>

But simply making the team was clearly not enough.  
>Dave Karofsky, the Captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team and also one of it's two Beaters, wanted him to spy on the Gryffindors to get a few tips from their Seeker because "he was so inexperienced and needed all the help he could get".<p>

Apparently, the Gryffindor team had recruited a new Seeker since Blaine and his friends had last spied on them, and according to other students, he was really good. A natural.

It was nearly five o'clock, and the sun had already set. The entire castle seemed to be heading for dinner in the Great Hall, but Karofsky had assured him that the Gryffindor team would be at practise.  
>So, with his stomach practically screaming for dinner, Blaine headed in the opposite direction of everyone else and left the warm, comfortable castle.<p>

The air outside was cool and the lights coming from the castle was the only thing that lit up the grounds before him.

"Lumos", he mumbled to his wand. A small light appeared at its tip and allowed him to guide himself down to the pitch.

As he came closer he whispered a quick "Nox", and the light disappeared.  
>Because of the dark it was quite easy to get onto the pitch without being noticed. It wasn't thoroughly dark, though, so he could still see fairly well where he was going.<p>

He stayed put at one of the entrances, safely hidden in the shadows.  
>He squinted up in the air and tried to make out the different figures he could see moving around there. There was Mike Chang, that girl from before- what was her name?<p>

It was bugging him that he couldn't remember it. He knew he had heard it somewhere.  
>Oh, right! Her name was Tina. Trent had had a severe crush on her in their first year, but he got it beaten out of him by Sebastian.<p>

They could all see the appeal, though. She was really pretty and had dark, long hair that was gracefully flowing down her back.  
>But it didn't matter how beautiful she was: she was a Gryffindor and they were forbidden territory.<p>

Having a relationship with a Gryffindor was like spitting in the face of every Slytherin. Especially if the Gryffindor were Muggle born. Blaine wasn't sure if this was the case with Tina, though.

He continued to sort out and recognise all of the players. Soon there was only the Seeker left.  
>Blaine quickly located him: he was soaring above the others in wide circles, searching for the Snitch and keeping tabs on his fellow players simultaneously. The rumours had been right, Blaine thought miserably, he <em>was<em> amazing.  
>Blaine was good enough to beat the other Slytherins, but were he good enough to beat this one?<p>

He still hadn't got a good enough look of the Seekers face to know who he was.  
>Probably some sixth-year who had loads of experience.<p>

No matter how long he watched, it never seized to amaze him just _how_ good this boy was. He did loops in the air, circling the field, soaring through the air as gracefully as if he had been dancing ballet. There was something particular about him, but Blaine couldn't put his finger on what it was.

Suddenly the Seeker launched forwards on his broom, did a sharp turn and shot upwards, his speed increasing by the second. Soon, judging by the applauds from the other players, he had caught the Snitch.

"Terrific! Let's lock it in and practise with some golf balls instead. I don't want to lose it in the dark!", Mike shouted across the pitch.

The Seeker flew down to the ground, and stayed there for a few minutes.  
>Blaine made sure to step back into the shadows even more during the time the other boy was also at ground level.<p>

He looked so small compared to the other players as he mounted his broom and joined them in the air again. This wasn't uncommon for Seekers, though. Quidditch players were generally very large and sturdy, but the Seeker position required speed and flexibility rather than pure strength.

Mike began throwing golf balls in different directions. The Seeker gracefully darted back and forth, catching every single ball and throwing it back at Mike.

And then, without any warning, a flash of light shot across the sky and illuminated all the players' faces. Blaine gasped out loud as the Seeker instantly became very familiar.  
>This was just not fair. The universe must loathe him intensely.<p>

It was Kurt Hummel. Of all people.  
>Suddenly the amazing performance he had just witnessed didn't seem so surprising.<br>If Kurt was their Seeker, of course he would be excruciatingly talented.  
>It seemed like he could pull off what ever he attempted.<p>

"Guys, we-", Mike began up in the air.

"And girls", Tina filled in automatically.

"-and girls, right, thanks. We're done for today, seems like a thunderstorm is coming. Let's go to the changing rooms."

And with those words the entire team landed on the ground, dismounted their brooms and headed towards the changing rooms. They were on the other side of the arena, so Blaine wasn't forced to move away directly.  
>He stayed there for a while, thinking over the whole thing.<p>

So, in a few short weeks he was supposed to be playing against Kurt.  
>He had no idea how he was going to win over his obvious talent.<br>But, he decided, the first step was to stop looking for him everywhere, stop unconsciously smiling as soon as he walked into view, and to stop trying to impress him or apologise to him.

"Andersons don't apologise", he mumbled quietly to himself.

That's right. He's an Anderson, after all. A pure-blood wizard with loads of celebrities and successful wizards and witches in his family. Why would he go pining after a boy who wasn't even raised by magically gifted people? He was a Muggle born. A Mudblood.

But as soon as that thought slipped through his mind, he felt ashamed.  
>Calling someone a Mudblood was the worst thing you could do. At least if you wanted to be perceived as a decent human being.<p>

But then he pushed that thought out of his mind too.  
>He could say Mudblood to whoever he wanted to. Kurt didn't have any power over him, not anymore, and Blaine would make sure to do anything to win that match.<p>

After about half an hour he realised he should be heading back to the Slytherin common room.  
>If he went now, he should be able to escape without being noticed by the Gryffindors.<br>If they saw him, he would have to make up some sort of explanation as to why he was lurking around the Quidditch pitch, alone, at 8pm.

Merlin's beard, had he been out that long?  
>He sprinted up to the castle, continuously glancing over his shoulder to see if the Gryffindors had made it out of the changing rooms.<p>

* * *

><p>"So, what did you found out?", Sebastian asked, while simultaneously rolling a piece of chocolate between his fingers.<p>

Blaine had barely made it back to the common room before he was being showered with questions.

"Well, they have a new Seeker. And he's amazing", he said.

"Did you get a good look on his tactics? His tricks, manoeuvres, body language?", Sebastian continued.

"Sort of. He's really flexible, and everything he does seems effortless", Blaine said.

It was hard to keep the admiration out of his voice, and unfortunately his friends heard it.

"Dude, don't go down that road", Puck warned him.

"What road?", Blaine asked nervously.

"You know, the one where you go all soft and mushy. Like that time last year when we were going to make that first-year run down to the kitchen to get us food because we missed dinner, and you went all crazy and said that we shouldn't push people around. We all know you're kind of a softy but you can't go around telling their Seeker how great you think he is. It'll only build up his confidence and that's the last thing we want to do. Okay? Just try to be tough for once", Puck said .

Blaine felt embarrassed.

"Er, right, yeah... I'll- I'll be tough", he said.

Sebastian rolled his eyes.

"Just keep watching them practise and pray you'll pick up some of his tricks", he said nastily.

Blaine kept his gaze firmly on his shoes. Because he was so reluctant to talk, they decided to ignore him and continue on with their previous conversation.

When he was sure they had forgotten of his presence, he sneaked off to his room.

* * *

><p>Blaine sneaked into plenty of the Gryffindor teams practises after that.<p>

He had only been forced to do it two times, but he had went many times voluntary.  
>He told himself he only did it to spy on Kurt and get to know his Seeker personality so he could win more easily over him. The first Quidditch match in November was Slytherin vs. Gryffindor after all.<p>

But in reality he went just because he liked watching Kurt. Whether it was in the library, the hallways, across a classroom, or during a Quidditch practise – he liked watching him.  
>And watching wasn't a crime. It was harmless. And his obvious interest in Kurt was easily covered. When his friends caught him looking at Kurt, he would just sigh and say: "Oh, I'm just nervous about the game. He's really good, maybe I should practise more so I'll beat him".<p>

That usually made them ramble on and on about how Kurt was just a lousy Gryffindor who probably faked his talent, whilst Blaine was an _Anderson_ and they had always been talented Quidditch players and he was amazing and shouldn't worry about it for one more second.

Even Sebastian, the most clever one, didn't suspect a hidden agenda to Blaine's actions.

* * *

><p>"You're improving, Blaine", Karofsky said and patted him on the back quite roughly which almost made Blaine fall over.<p>

"Oh, thanks", Blaine answered shyly as he rubbed his, now sore, shoulder.

They were just heading to the changing rooms after a hard, long three hours of practise.  
>They had been pushing him harder than anyone on the team ever since he joined. It was because he had to be trained properly in order to catch the Snitch before the Gryffindor Seeker did.<p>

Before Kurt did. And since he had proven to be so great, Blaine was being forced to train each and every day which made it more difficult to find time to go and see Kurt's practises.

Because in between Quidditch practise and classes he had to finish all of his homework, sleep and eat. So he rarely made it to their practises anymore, but he still got to see Kurt around school.

Most particularly in the library because they both spent a fair share of their time there. Blaine went there when he wanted to get away from his friends who rarely stepped foot in there, and Kurt practically lived there.

He spent most of his time there, reading either for classes or for entertainment. Sometimes his friends accompanied him, but mostly he was there alone. Blaine had the feeling that Kurt liked it that way.

"You look a little confused, midget", a girl with black straight hair said. Her voice was sharp and superior. Her name was Santana, and she played Chaser on the team.

Blaine snapped back to reality.

"Uh, what?", he asked stupidly.

She shook her head, making her long hair sway in the air.

"Bye, stupid", she said and turned on her heel and disappeared to the girls' changing rooms.

Blaine and the boys continued across the pitch to the boys' changing room.

It was not a particularly pleasant experience, being in the changing room. The boys were all rough and they were all trying to act like 'real men'. Everyone was really uncomfortable with the whole dressing in front of other guys-thing, so the atmosphere was really tense until they had all showered and got their clothes on again.

If anyone got too close to another guy before all clothes were on, the guy would push them away and yell "Ey, homo! Back off!", and the entire team would tense up even more and the "homo" would receive several snide remarks and looks. And since no one wanted to be singled out as the guy who tried to molest the other players, they all kept to themselves until they left the changing room and they could talk normally without worrying about being called names.

Blaine always showered last, when everyone else had left, because he didn't feel comfortable showering in front of people. He liked it much better to be left alone. Then he could get dressed and fix his hair in peace without getting stressed out with everyone else's irrational fear of accidentally hitting on someone. Besides, being alone in the changing room meant that he could sing without being mocked for it.

Blaine had sung since he was little, but he had always been teased for it so he only did it when he was alone nowadays. When he was younger he used to sing to his mother because she thought his voice was so beautiful. But as he got older, she stopped encouraging him to sing. It wasn't appropriate for a boy his age, she said. So he resorted to singing only when he was alone.

And now he was finally alone, for the first time in a while.  
>As he was getting dressed he sang his heart out to a song called Friday I'm In Love. It was performed by a Muggle band called The Cure and they were really big in the Muggle world, and he knew he would get in trouble if anyone caught him singing it.<p>

"I don't care if Monday's blue, Tuesday's grey and Wednesday too. Thursday I don't care about you, it's Friday I'm in love!"

He went up on his toes, did a little twirl and picked up a t-shirt that he had hung on a hook on the wall.  
>Suddenly he could hear the subtle sound of someone clearing its throat at the door.<p>

He spun around instantly, t-shirt in one hand and shoes in the other.  
>A mildly blushing Kurt was standing in the door.<p>

"I, um, hi. I was just-", he began hesitantly.

Blaine quickly picked up his shirt which he had dropped on the floor. Talking to Kurt Hummel while half-naked didn't seem to be the best of ideas.

"Kurt! What are you doing here?", he choked as he tried desperately to pull on his shirt.

"I was just walking by and then I heard someone singing and I couldn't resist-", Kurt explained.

"You were just casually walking by the Quidditch pitch at 8pm on a Monday?", Blaine questioned in disbelief as he continued to struggle with his clothes.

Kurt's mouth opened and then closed again. His otherwise pale features reddened even more.

Then he eyed Blaine for a few seconds, as if he was assessing him.

"Well, I was kind of watching you practise earlier", he confessed.

Blaine's jaw dropped. A sudden urge to crawl into a hole and die hit him.  
>Kurt had been watching him practise. <em>Kurt<em> had been watching _him.  
><em>

Kurt, who was a natural and who everyone seemed to be so confident in would win the game in a few weeks, had been watching him, Blaine, who was a good Seeker, yes, but who surely couldn't measure up to Kurt's standards.

Blaine was at a loss for words. Then he finally came to his senses.

"You've been- you've been spying on us!", he exclaimed.

"Well, haven't you been doing the same?", Kurt asked quietly.

Blaine was, once again, speechless.

"How did you-", he began, but was interrupted by Kurt shaking his head.

"I've seen you. You're not that good at hiding, actually", he said.

"Does the others know?", Blaine asked nervously.

"No. They're not particularly observant, so to speak. I just figured that if you're spying, then why shouldn't I do the same?", Kurt said.

Blaine bit his lip.

"So, what did you think?", he asked finally.

"About what?", Kurt asked.

"About the practise. Karofsky says I've improved but I'm not so sure", Blaine said.

"Oh, I think you're great. That catch you did when the Snitch was by that boy's ear was spectacular", Kurt said.

Blaine kept quiet. This was wrong. They weren't supposed to talk like this. They weren't supposed to be friendly. They should be mean to each other, not complimenting one another.

He sighed heavily.

"What are you doing here?", he asked.

"I told you", Kurt said and raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, you told me you went to our practise to spy. But why are you here now?", Blaine asked.

Kurt shrugged.

"I don't know. I heard you sing and I didn't know who it was so I thought I'd-", he began, but Blaine cut him off.

"You knew the Slytherin team was here and you heard someone sing, so you decided to go into a changing room filled with Slytherins just to see someone sing?", Blaine asked sceptically.

Kurt hesitated slightly.

"Alright, I saw everyone else leave so I knew you were here alone and I thought I'd go say hi. Since we haven't talked much lately", he admitted.

"I've already told you we can't be friends", Blaine said impatiently.

"I know. I'm sorry, I know it's inappropriate to barge in like this. But I really miss you and no one is here to witness it anyway so what harm can it do to talk for a few minutes?", Kurt asked.

Blaine stared at him. Kurt missed him? Why?  
>He quickly pulled himself together again after the initial shock.<p>

"What if one of them comes back and you're here? What am I supposed to do then? I don't have anything against you personally but I can't be seen with you. You know that. So why are you making this so difficult? Yeah, I liked hanging out with you on the train and you seem really great, but we can't be friends so what's the point in pretending?", he asked.

It came out harsher than he had intended.  
>Kurt looked down on his shoes.<p>

"I just thought maybe-", he tried.

"Look, maybe you're cool with just coming here to talk once and then we're back to ignoring and pretending to hate each other, but I'm not. It makes everything so difficult", Blaine said.

"What's so difficult about it?", Kurt asked defensively.

"Because it makes me want to see you more! It makes me want to be your friend, and I can't, so this is just wasting my time", Blaine said with a heavy sigh.

"But I want to be your friend too! So why can't we be friends? I mean, our friends doesn't have to know", Kurt said.

"You're so naive!", Blaine sighed impatiently. "Of course you can say that, you have nothing to lose. I could lose _everything_ if it came out that I've been spending time with a Mudblood. Do you have any idea-"

But then he paused, because the colour had suddenly drained from Kurt's face.

"What's wrong?", he asked worriedly.

Kurt's mouth was slightly open, and he just stared at Blaine.  
>Then he shut his eyes firmly, took a deep breath and turned around.<p>

"Kurt, where are you going?", Blaine called after him.

He walked after him. It was just plain _rude_ to come here and say all these things and then just walk away.

"What are you-", he began but didn't come much further before Kurt turned around and slapped him, quite passionately, across the face.

Blaine gasped and clutched his sore cheek, staring at Kurt with wide eyes.

"What was that for?", he yelled.

Kurt was trembling violently.

"You're just like everyone else. I thought you were different, I thought you just pretended to go along with it all just to fit in, I thought you... never mind. I'll just go", he spat and turned around again.

"Kurt! What are you- wait- come back-", Blaine cried out.

But Kurt didn't stop. He ran out of the room and continued off across the grounds.  
>Blaine had frozen on the spot, too shocked to even move. What had just happened?<p>

Something had upset Kurt enough to slap him in the face, but what?  
>Then it hit him. He had called him Mudblood.<p>

"Stupid!", he hissed to himself. "Stupid, stupid, stupid!"

How could he have been so reckless? Calling someone Mudblood was the nastiest, lowest, most cowardly thing you could do. Most Slytherins used the phrase without much concern, but Blaine had never uttered it to another person. He had never imagined himself saying it to Kurt, of all people.

But maybe it was for the best. How many times hadn't Blaine dreamt about him and Kurt being together, laughing, talking. It never worked out, even in his dreams. There was no way they could spend time together without anyone noticing. It was a big castle, yes, but there were also tons of students. Witnesses.

Maybe calling Kurt a Mudblood was the best thing that could have happened.  
>Now he was too hurt to try and find Blaine again, and Blaine could just return to admiring Kurt at a safe distance.<p>

If Kurt was trying to be Blaine's friend, then he would soon give in. He couldn't resist Kurt, but if he did, the only possible outcome would be him losing his family and friends. Was Kurt really worth that?

A part of him said that yes, yes he was worth it.  
>But he shoved that part of him deep down, burying it with reassurances that he was doing the right thing by not running after Kurt and begging him on his bare knees to forgive him.<p>

It was for the best. Right?


	5. Chapter 5

Blaine had really made an effort not to look for Kurt around the castle. It was difficult, though, because he was so used to turning a corner and wishing Kurt was there. He deserved an award or something, because he actually managed to avoid Kurt quite successfully.

Even when he was at the library, the place where he and Kurt ran into each other the most, he kept to his own things and didn't even glance up when he heard the door open.

He didn't run after Kurt and beg for his forgiveness, even if that's what he should be doing. At least if he hadn't been so keen on keeping up his reputation as the cool Slytherin that he so desperately tried to be.

Oh, well. What's the point in dwelling over something that can't be changed?

"Blaine! What on earth are you doing?"

Blaine jumped slightly at the sound of the horrified voice somewhere to his right.  
>He had had his gaze firmly locked on his wand with which he was attempting to transfigure the teapot in front of him into a tortoise.<p>

He looked up nervously and found himself staring into professor Pillsbury's eyes, which were widened in shock.

"Sorry, professor, what did I do wrong?", Blaine asked carefully.

"He transfigured Sebastian into a squirrel!", a Slytherin girl a few tables away exclaimed.

Blaine's eyebrows shot upwards as the statement sunk in.  
>Sebastian? A squirrel? Surely he hadn't-<p>

But as he lowered his gaze, he saw a tiny squirrel running across the floor, trying to flee out the window.  
>Before it could make it there, though, professor Pillsbury had uttered the counter-curse and the squirrel – or well, Sebastian – regained it's usual shape.<br>His hair was standing right up as if he had been electrified, and he was looking absolutely hysterical.

Blaine just stared at him with his mouth wide open, as did the rest of the class.

Unfortunately, the Slytherins had Transfiguration class with the Gryffindors, and they were all giggling and laughing like mad at the humiliated Sebastian whose cheeks had grown determinedly redder.

As the laughter around him grew louder, Sebastian turned to Blaine with a furious look on his face.

"You!", he spluttered.

"Sorry", Blaine said with an embarrassed smile. "I wasn't focusing properly."

Sebastian shot him a nasty look and settled down in his seat again at the table in front of Blaine, next to a Slytherin girl called Sugar who instantly began fussing over him, reassuring him that no one had laughed _at_ him but rather _with _him.

He just pushed her away, giving her a look of disgust before folding his arms across his chest and staring determinedly ahead. No one really liked Sugar, she was kind of the girl who no one really knew how she had possibly made it to Slytherin.

She was a typical Hufflepuff, really: dumb, completely unaware of her surroundings, naive and thoroughly annoying. And she had had a serious crush on Sebastian ever since she first saw him.

Sebastian often complained about her, because she was always following him around (not so discreetly) and trying to run into him "by accident" just so she would have a reason to talk to him.

Blaine accidentally caught Kurt's eye across the classroom, but before Blaine could turn away to make a point of his "I won't apologise"-act, Kurt had already looked in the opposite direction.

He, too, seemed determined not to be caught looking.

It sent a jolt of sadness through Blaine's body. It had only been two days since the whole fiasco down at the Quidditch pitch, and it had already left Blaine feeling quite miserable.

He missed being able to watch Kurt. He really did. Not like Sugar liked watching Sebastian – that was just stalkerish and creepy.

Blaine wasn't following Kurt around, making up stupid excuses to talk to him. He just found it soothing to watch him from afar. He somehow found comfort in how simple and easy Kurt's life seemed to be.

But now that luxury had been taken away from him. He didn't dare seek him out in a crowd because he was afraid that Kurt would notice him looking, and that he would understand how much Blaine actually wanted to be his friend.

He couldn't risk that, because if Kurt tried talking to him again, Blaine would surely give in. And that would be _bad._

"Alright, class, you're dismissed for today. For those who didn't succeed in transfiguring your teapots into tortoises, practise the spell before your next class on-", professor Pillsbury glanced at a schedule on her desk, "-Thursday. Have a nice day."

Blaine sighed heavily and got up from his seat. He gathered his books and quills and stuffed them into his bag which he threw over his right shoulder. Just as he was about to file out of the classroom along with the rest of the class, someone lay a gentle hand on his shoulder.

He turned around and found professor Pillsbury looking at him with her big eyes. They kind of made her look like a deer caught in headlights. But not necessarily in a bad way. She looked just as nice and kind as she actually was.

"Could I have a word with you?", she asked quietly.

Blaine looked over his shoulder and locked eyes with Puck who gave a slight shrug, and then he, Trent and Sebastian disappeared from the classroom with everyone else.

Blaine turned back to professor Pillsbury and gave a slight nod.

She closed the door and walked up to her desk at the front of the classroom.

Then she turned his gaze to Blaine who stood uncomfortably beside his own desk, not really knowing what to expect or where to look.

"You're not doing too good at Transfiguration, Blaine", she said after a few moments of silence.

"Yeah, I know", Blaine mumbled. He kept staring at the floor, focusing more on drawing invisible circles with the tip of his shoe than on his professor.

"If you don't improve, I'm afraid you won't pass your next exam", professor Pillsbury continued.

Blaine looked up, horrified.

"Are you serious? I won't pass? Oh my god, my parents will murder me-", he mumbled frantically.

"Don't panic. I-"

"Don't panic? Professor, you don't understand! My parents will kick me out if I fail a subject. Especially a subject as trivial as Transfiguration!", Blaine exclaimed.

Then he completely choked as he realised what he had just said. Professor Pillsbury raised one eyebrow slightly.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean your subject is irrelevant or anything. I'm just upset, I didn't mean it, I'm sorry-", Blaine stuttered.

Professor Pillsbury offered a calming smile.

"Don't worry. You're not the first one who has thought Transfiguration to be a easy subject. But it is actually one of the hardest and most complex subjects we offer at Hogwarts, and many students struggle with it. Now, I passed you last year because you were so keen on passing and you've shown a desire to improve, and that's important. However, if you want to pass your next exam, you have to improve quite drastically. Just look at what you've accomplished today: you were supposed to turn your teapot into a tortoise, but instead you transformed your friend into a squirrel. A _squirrel._ That is quite admirable, had it been intentional, but considering the real assignment, I really can't pass it", she said softly.

Blaine laughed sadly.

"Yeah, I know. I'm terrible. I just can't get a hang of it. It doesn't matter how hard I try", he said.

"You're not a lost cause, even if you might think so yourself. I've had students far worse than you who has still graduated with quite high marks. You just need a push in the right direction", professor Pillsbury said.

"What do you mean?", Blaine asked slowly.

"I suggest you find a tutor. Perhaps one of your friends would be up for it?", she asked.

Blaine hesitated a few seconds.

"A tutor? Is there no other way? I already have too much homework to do, and between that and Quidditch and sleep there isn't much time left for extra Transfiguration lessons", he said.

"I know it's difficult, but if you want to pass, I would strongly advice you to get a tutor. You might improve on your own but as far as I've seen these two years, your improvement is too slow to make the progress you need to make in time for your exam", professor Pillsbury said.

"Yeah, alright. I'll find time for it somehow", Blaine agreed.

He really needed to pass.

"Excellent! Perhaps you should go now so you won't be late for your next class. What subject do you have after Transfiguration?", professor Pillsbury asked.  
>"Potions", Blaine said.<p>

"Ah, with Sue Sylvester. If you run late, tell her I had to keep you a little longer so she won't take away any points. I doubt it, since you are in her House. But just to be safe", professor Pillsbury said with a kind smile.

Blaine was often shocked by how nice she was to everyone, no matter what House they belonged to. She was covering up for him, and it felt really nice to have someone who was willing to do that for a change.

"Thank you, professor", Blaine said with as much kindness as he could muster.

He really liked her. She was Head of Ravenclaw House, and they weren't _horrible_ after all.

She smiled again and followed him to the door and opened it for him.

"Good luck. I really want to pass you, but I can't do the work for you", she said as he passed her.

"Thank you. I'll do my best", he promised.

With a last smile he turned around and hurried to the dungeons and the Potions classroom.


	6. Chapter 6

"A _tutor_? Really? Oh my god, Blaine, that's embarrassing", Sebastian said and stifled a laugh.

"I'm aware of that! Can you help me or not?", Blaine asked, his cheeks getting redder by the second.

"Me? As if!", Sebastian snorted.

Blaine rolled his eyes and turned to Puck, but he just cast one look at him before he instead spun around to face Trent, who was trying to study in the corner of the Slytherin common room. It must have been quite difficult to tune out the voices of his friends, but he seemed to be able to cope with it.

"Trent! You're fairly good at Transfiguration, right? Can you help me?", Blaine asked quickly.

Trent looked up from his pile of books and shook his head slowly.

"Sorry, Blaine, I can't. I have enough work as it is", he said.

Blaine let out a disgruntled moan.

"How am I supposed to pass if no one wants to teach me?", he asked the room in general.

But as no one seemed to pay him any attention, he kicked a chair in frustration and stormed off to the dorm room that he, Sebastian, Trent and Puck shared. No one followed him to check if he was alright.  
>Of course they didn't, what had he expected?<p>

He fell down on his bed, face forwards, and just lay there for a while. Who could possibly want to tutor him? He had asked every Slytherin he had come across. The only option he had left was to go looking for someone from another House, but he didn't know _anyone_ outside of Slytherin.

He couldn't just go up to anyone and ask them. Or could he? Surely no one would want to help him. He was a Slytherin, and that made 80% of the school hate him just on principle.

-  
>Blaine had been trying to find someone to tutor him ever since last Thursday's Transfiguration class. The first two days he had stuck to Slytherins: he even dared ask a couple of seventh-years, but they just laughed at him and shoved him out of the way.<p>

On the third day he decided to widen his search, and he approached a couple of Ravenclaws but they told him they didn't have time. He wasn't particularly popular around the castle, being a part of one of the school's meanest bully gangs.

And way too soon he found himself standing in line outside of the Transfiguration classroom, waiting for professor Pillsbury to come and let the students in. He hadn't managed to find a tutor over the weekend and now he was about to have his first Transfiguration lesson since his professor had advised him to find some help.

It was a cloudy Tuesday morning, and the Gryffindor and Slytherin third years were huddled together in the hallway outside of Classroom 1B on the first floor. Blaine was nervous in case he would be questioned on the whole tutor matter. He didn't want professor Pillsbury to think he had been too lazy to find someone.

He was just about to tell Puck that he felt ill and that he should probably go to the hospital wing to make sure he wasn't sick or anything, but before he could do so, professor Pillsbury had emerged and unlocked the door with a simple "Colloportus". She smiled brightly at them all as they filed in, taking their places across the classroom. Blaine walked past her without making eye contact, hoping she would get that he didn't want to discuss it.

He was partially lucky. She left him alone at first and went straight to the front of the classroom. She gave them instructions for the current lesson, paired them up and handed out a teapot to every pair. Blaine was paired up with Puck, who was even more useless at Transfiguration than Blaine.

Professor Pillsbury walked around the class for the rest of the period, encouraging the ones who did well and correcting the ones who failed.

A few tables away, Kurt and his partner had successfully transfigured their teapot into a fabulous tortoise. It had brightly coloured patterns on it's back, and Blaine even thought he glimpsed some golden sequinces. They were surely Kurt's idea, he thought.

Blaine groaned and buried his head in his hands. How was he supposed to get that good in just a few months?

Just as Blaine was about to flip over the table and run out screaming, professor Pillsbury dismissed them after one hour and a half of painful comments such as "Well, you're _almost_ there" and "you get an GE for _Great Effort!_ Just keep trying" directed towards Blaine and his teapot that was still very firmly a grey, boring teapot.

He quickly collected all his things and dashed from the room in order to avoid professor Pillsbury. But he just got out of the classroom before she was at his side, looking at him with those big caring eyes.

He could almost feel how he shrunk down to the size of a little doll under that compassionate gaze.  
>Just like last time, his friends left without even considering waiting for him.<p>

He made sure that they had already left before he looked back at his professor.

"I haven't found anyone yet", he mumbled embarrassedly.

She nodded thoughtfully. Then she turned around and scanned the classroom through the open door. Her gaze fell on a group of Gryffindors that hadn't left already. They were chatting happily at a table at the front of the classroom. Blaine couldn't see their faces.

"Wait here, I'll be right back", professor Pillsbury said and patted Blaine soothingly on the shoulder.

He tried to tell her not to but the words got caught in his throat, and before he could get them out she had already walked up to them.  
>He could hear them talking but he couldn't make out any specific words.<p>

He just stood awkwardly by the door until she returned to him with three of them.  
>Blaine had frozen on the spot, not sure how he should behave now.<p>

Because it wasn't just any third year Gryffindor students that professor Pillsbury had now brought him. It was Kurt and two of his friends. He recognised one of them as Tina from the Quidditch team, and even though he didn't know the name of the other girl he had seen her plenty of times around school.

She was always hanging out with Kurt. She was probably Kurt's best friend.

Kurt seemed just as startled as Blaine was at being confronted with him.

"I've told them about your situation, Blaine, and they would be happy to help you", professor Pillsbury said.

"Actually, professor, I don't think I have time for it after all. You know, too much homework and stuff", the unknown girl said, giving Blaine a nasty glare when professor Pillsbury wasn't looking.

She had long black hair, dark skin and she had her arm firmly linked with Kurt's.

Blaine felt his mood sink. Did they really hate him that much?

Tina nodded quickly.

"Yeah, exactly. Too much homework", she repeated.

Professor Pillsbury looked disappointed.

"I know you're not the best of friends but Blaine here is a nice boy and he needs your help. Aren't you Gryffindors supposed to be brave and courageous and do things like this for other people?", she asked. "Besides, this is a terrific opportunity for you to get some extra credit."

The girl with the long hair rolled her eyes.

"With all due respect, professor, he doesn't deserve it", she said.

Professor Pillsbury seemed startled, which made Blaine feel slightly comforted even if he mostly felt miserable.

"Why would you say that?", she asked.

The girl glanced at Kurt who didn't meet her gaze, and Blaine knew instantly that he had told them about their fight.

Unfortunately for his pride, a deep blush spread across Blaine's face. He felt his pulse speed up and he could barely resist the urge to run as far away from them as he possibly could.

"It's alright, professor, I'll find someone else", he said as politely as he could manage.

He saw Kurt glance at him but when Blaine met his gaze, he quickly looked away.

"But-", professor Pillsbury began.

"Thank you for your help", he interrupted, gave a small wave and walked away from them as fast as he could without running.

As soon as he was out of sight he collapsed against the nearest wall.

-  
>The first Quidditch game of the term was coming up, and the Slytherin and Gryffindor Quidditch teams were practising long and hard as often as they could. The atmosphere between the two Houses was even more tense than usual. Both sides did mean things, but the Slytherins were probably the meanest. Sebastian, who played Chaser on the team, took every opportunity he got to hex the Gryffindor players in the hallways when the teachers weren't looking.<p>

Blaine still hadn't found a tutor, and he was getting more and more stressed about it.  
>He was getting so frustrated that he took it out on others, like a true Slytherin.<p>

He participated more and more in his friends' humiliation of the Gryffindors. For the first time he almost enjoyed it, and it was actually worth getting hexed in return. The weird thrill of being mean made him sort of forget that he was failing Transfiguration and how he would have to tell his parents about it eventually.

-  
>And soon came the actual day of the game. It didn't begin very pleasantly. At least not for Blaine.<p>

He woke up at 5am and simply couldn't go back to sleep. The game was to take place at 9am, four hours away. Around him he could hear the gentle (or, in Puck's case, very loud) snores that made it clear that his friends were all asleep.

Breakfast in the Great Hall wasn't served until 6am. There was no way he could just lie there for an hour and not do anything. He needed to get up and do something, anything.

He rolled over and sat up at the side of the bed. Slowly and quietly as to not wake anyone up he got dressed – simple jeans and a long-sleeved shirt with a discreet black lace collar. It was one of his favourites but he didn't use it too often because it provoked people and he just wanted to fit in, and a guy wearing lace didn't fit in very neatly.

But today he felt like it couldn't hurt to dress up a little, and he had to change into Quidditch robes in a few hours anyway.

When he had gotten dressed he quietly slipped out of the room, tip toed across the empty common room and out through the hidden entrance door.

The castle was cold and quiet, even when he had left the dungeons.

He stood outside of the common room for a few minutes, shivering slightly and trying to figure out where to go. Finally he decided to go to the Owlery and say hi to his owl before he went to the Great Hall for breakfast. If he ate an early breakfast then he'd miss the worst rush of students at 7-7.30 am, which meant he wouldn't have to endure pressuring comments from his fellow Slytherins and hateful insults from all the other Houses.

Even the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff students wanted Gryffindor to win.

Not that Blaine really blamed them. If he was in their position he wouldn't want the mean Slytherins to win either.

He was in a really bad mood as he walked through the dead silent castle. He felt lonely and miserable and all he really wanted to do was to curl up next to someone and have them comfort him. Not that he would _ever _say that out loud. He was strong. He didn't need anyone.

He didn't come across a living soul until he came to the stair that led up to the Owlery. Or, well, at least no one except for the many paintings that he passed. The majority of them seemed annoyed by him passing by, and some of them shouted after him to keep quiet.

He thought they were really over-sensitive because he didn't make much noise at all, just the gentle click of his shoes against the floor.

As he began to climb the stair, a little boy came running and, not expecting to meet someone, he ran straight into Blaine. He looked really young, probably no older than a first-year.

Blaine immediately took the opportunity to channel all his nerves, fears and pressures into anger towards this little innocent first-year boy.

"Hey, mind where you're going, won't you!", he hissed and gave the little boy a rough push before he continued upwards. He looked over his shoulder and saw the boy continue down the stairs, a deep blush on his face. He looked scared.

It was weird – Blaine felt both guilty and proud for his lashing out. It was really uncalled for and completely inappropriate for a third-year to be yelling at a timid first-year over such a trivial thing, but at the same time he felt like a proper Slytherin for once. His brother would have been proud.

When he reached the top of the stairs, fate had another surprise in store for him. Instead of finding the Owlery empty and deserted like the rest of the castle, he noticed Kurt standing at the far end next to one of the school owls. He was stroking it's head slowly and whispering something to it.

As Blaine approached him, the smile on his face faded quickly.

"I'll just send my letter and I'll be on my way. I wouldn't want to infect your day with my presence", he said coldly, taking the owl down from the perch it was seated on.

"No, you don't have to go", Blaine protested.

It felt so wrong to hear such coldness in Kurt's otherwise very caring voice.

"And what if your friends stopped by and found you talking to me? You wouldn't be so keen on talking to me then, right?", Kurt said, avoiding to look at him by busying himself with fastening his letter to the owl's leg.

"I've told you I have to be like that so they'll like me. And my family-", Blaine began defensively.

"Yeah, I know. Your family would disown you if were friends with a filthy Mudblood like me", Kurt interrupted.

Blaine flinched at those words.

"Look, about that... I'm sorry. I guess I'm just used to saying it because my friends does it all the time and I wasn't really thinking. So, uh, I'm sorry", Blaine said.

Kurt turned away from the owl to look at him.

"Are you, though?", he asked quietly.

"Am I what?", Blaine asked with a confused frown.

"Are you really sorry? Because I just heard you yelling at that first-year for absolutely no reason", Kurt said.

"Yeah... but what does that have to do with anything?", Blaine asked.

"It means you're a bully. It might have started out just when you were around your bully friends but now you do it on your own accord. And a few years ago I would have forgiven you because that's just the person I am, but being in Gryffindor and finding these wonderful, supportive friends has made me realise that I deserve better than to let everyone step on me. And I would have loved to be friends with the boy I met on the train two years ago, but you're not that person anymore", Kurt said.

His eyes were shining but Blaine couldn't make out what was hidden behind those deep blue orbs. He opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out.  
>Kurt sighed.<p>

"I know this is not who you really are. At least that's what I choose to believe. I've seen you do nice things when no one is looking. And it kills me to think of how unhappy you must be. But I've realised that it doesn't help either of us to let you walk all over me. So I'm sorry, Blaine, but I won't accept your apology because I know you will do it all over again as soon as the opportunity arises", Kurt said.

He looked both genuinely sad and determined. He seemed to have put a lot of thought into this.

He walked over to the window and released the owl with a last affectionate stroke across it's head.

He stood there for a few seconds and watched as it soared off across the grounds, creating more and more distance between itself and them.

Kurt turned to look at Blaine again, who still hadn't said anything.

"I really am sorry", Blaine said finally.

Kurt shook his head. Then he went past Blaine and over to the stairs.

"Good luck today at the game", he said as he turned towards him one last time.

"You too", Blaine replied weakly.

Kurt gave him one last look of compassionate sadness before he climbed down the stairs, leaving Blaine standing alone in the middle of the room, feeling lonelier than ever.

-  
>"Alright, team, let's go."<p>

Blaine got up from the bench where he had been tying his shoe laces and joined his team mates who were queuing by the entrance door. They all mounted their brooms and got ready to take off from the ground.

"Hey, Anderson, you better catch that Snitch before the Mudblood does. Okay?", Karofsky called from the front of the line.

Blaine swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded slowly.

"Yeah", he mumbled.

Then they heard a whistle out on the pitch, the sign that they should fly out.

They all kicked up off the ground simultaneously and soared out onto the pitch.

The roar of the crowd greeted them, and even though it was mostly Slytherins who cheered them on there was still an ear deafening sound.

The Gryffindor team was already in it's places, and Blaine instantly spotted Kurt who was soaring a few yards above the ground, surrounded by his team. They were probably discussing last minute strategies.

Blaine looked around at his own team, but they all ignored him.

They all landed on the ground, and Karofsky went forwards to shake hands with Mike Chang, as it was a customary for the two Quidditch captains to act friendly towards one another. But there was nothing friendly about their handshake as they both tried to crush the others fingers.  
>By the look on Mike's face when they parted, Karofsky had won that round.<p>

The Quidditch referee Ken Tanaka blew his whistle once again, and the players flew up in the air again. The balls were released (one Quaffle, two Bludgers and the Golden Snitch).

Santana and Sebastian both launched forwards to get a hold on the Quaffle before the other team.  
>Puck immediately swung his Beaters bat through the air and hit one of the Bludgers with all his force.<p>

He aimed it at the Gryffindor Chaser Tina, who was trying to take the Quaffle from Santana.

In order not to get hit, Tina steered off course and left Santana free to pursue her way towards the Gryffindor goal hoops on the other side of the pitch.

Their Keeper tried to evaluate her movements and figure out which hoop she would go for, but miscalculated, and flew to the right whilst Santana went to the left and threw the Quaffle through the now unprotected hoop.

The Slytherin students in the crowd roared it's approval, and Santana did a victory lap around the arena. The friend of Kurt's whose name Blaine hadn't remembered was commenting the game (she introduced herself as Mercedes Jones), and with a disappointed tone she declared that Slytherin was now ahead by ten points.

But then the Keeper had started off the game again and hurled the Quaffle to Mike who was now flying towards the Slytherin goal hoops at raging speed.

Before Trent, the Slytherin Keeper, had understood what was going on, Mike had scored.  
>Another deafening burst of cheers came from the excited audience. Blaine could barely hear Mercedes saying that the score was now ten to ten over all the noise.<p>

"What the hell are you doing?", Karofsky screamed to Trent, who was blushing embarrassedly.

Then he left the Slytherin side of the pitch to go chase after the Quaffle again.

Blaine flew over to Trent, who looked miserable, and gave him a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry, Trent, you'll take the next one!", he called.

Trent smiled, and he did look a little more sure of himself when Blaine flew away to pursue his search for the Snitch.  
>Kurt was circling the arena above all the others players where he wouldn't be disturbed.<p>

Blaine kept on a level slightly below him, also circling the arena. His mind was too distracted for him to focus properly, but he tried to shake off any thoughts other than finding the Snitch.

Suddenly he saw a flash of gold in the corner in his eye, and was just about to rush towards it when he saw a fifth-year Slytherin boy in the audience holding up a small piece of glass. He was grinning up at Kurt, who had also been fooled by the trick.

The intention had probably been to make Kurt believe that the sun's reflection in the mirror had been the Snitch, but the boy hadn't counted on Blaine getting fooled too.

He looked a little embarrassed, but mostly pleased at having thrown Kurt off his game.  
>Blaine saw Kurt scowl before he set off again. His tense body language told Blaine that he was not amused by the trick.<p>

He tried to take his eyes off Kurt and just focus on finding the Snitch. It didn't go too well.

50 minutes went by without even a glimpse of it. By then the scores was 80-60 points to Slytherin.  
>If Blaine could just find the damn thing, then the whole thing would be over and he could back to bed. He felt awfully tired.<p>

Through the dull haze he saw Kurt flying determinedly at high speed across the pitch. Blaine quickly grabbed the handle of his broom and zoomed after him. And then he, too, saw the Snitch that Kurt had located.

The crowd had noticed them and they were all holding their breaths.  
>Blaine leaned forwards slightly to increase his speed. He had almost caught up with Kurt, but then something strange happened.<p>

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see both Karofsky and Puck aiming their bats at two Bludgers and swinging them furiously.

In slow motion, he saw the Bludgers soaring through the air towards Kurt who hadn't noticed them in the intense chase of the Snitch.

The roar from the crowd got tuned out and only a heavy silence rang through Blaine's ear.

In his mind played a scene on repeat: Kurt getting hit by the Bludgers simultaneously, and while screaming and bleeding he fell to the ground, completely motionless-

He didn't even mean to do it, his body just reacted without his brain's consent.

Without any hesitance, Blaine launched forwards so he was right beside Kurt.

He was the only thing in between Kurt and the Bludgers that were just a few yards away now.

Kurt obviously thought that Blaine was just going after the Snitch, and tried to shake him off, but Blaine trailed after him stubbornly.

And then- _BAM!_

The first Bludger hit Blaine right in the ribs and he felt the air going out of him.

Then the second Bludger hit him in the head, only a microsecond later, but to Blaine it felt like hours passed in between.

He couldn't breathe, his vision was blurry and he couldn't see anything.

He lost control of his broom, his fingers slid off of the handle, he could feel himself slipping away from reality.

Blackness was surrounding him, pulling him in, drowning him-

The last thing he heard before he fell to the ground, unconsciousness finally taking control of him, was the high-pitched shriek somewhere to his right.

"_Blaine! No!"_


	7. Chapter 7

Thank you for the reviews, they really keep me motivated to keep writing! :)  
>Also, sorry for the late updates, I'm just really busy at school and stuff...<p>

* * *

><p><em>"Oh, but please, can't I stay?"<em>

_"No, you can't! This poor boy needs rest and nothing else. He'll be in pain when he wakes up, and for at least a few weeks to come too! Visiting hours aren't until 6pm, you can come back then."_

_"Please? Surely you don't want him to wake up without anyone here to see him? Please, I won't stress him out, I just want to see if he's okay."_

_Silence._

_"Alright. I'll let you stay for another half an hour, but if he haven't woken up by then, you'll have to go and come back later. Okay?"_

_"Thank you! I'll promise to be very quiet."_

Blaine could hear the conversation and his judgement told him the voices came from close by. But where? All he could see was complete darkness.

He tried to move his arms, legs, anything, but he couldn't tell if he succeeded or not. He couldn't feel anything at all.

Suddenly the realisation that his eyes were closed hit him.

He tried his absolute hardest to open them, and after hours of trying (it was most probably only a few minutes, but it felt like several hours) he managed to squeeze them open.

He quickly shut them again, however, because he had been shocked by the absolute whiteness that surrounded him.

"Blaine? Are you awake?", came a voice somewhere to his right.

It was familiar. But who was it?

Then all the memories flooded back to him. The Quidditch game. The Bludgers. Kurt. _Kurt!_

He forced his eyes open again, and this time he kept them opened until he adjusted to the brightness of the real world. He tried to tilt his head to the right to try and find Kurt, but it hurt so much that a yelp escaped his lips. Embarrassingly enough.

Kurt's head immediately popped into sight, and he looked really worried.

"Oh, thank god you're awake! I was so scared for you. Does it hurt much?", he asked.

Blaine didn't know if he could trust himself to speak. How long had he been out?

"Um, no, only when I try to move, otherwise I feel mostly numb", he said hoarsely.

He tried to clear his throat but the movement hurt too much.

"It's only to be expected, I suppose. They've given you loads of painkillers. You fell over a hundred feet, you know, and those Bludgers hit you really hard", Kurt said.

He sat down on a chair next to the bed on which Blaine was positioned.

Blaine didn't know what to do. A part of him wanted Kurt to leave because he felt so vulnerable, but at the same time it was really nice to have him there.

"I'm sorry about before", Kurt said suddenly.

"Don't be. You were only standing up for yourself. And you were right. I've changed", Blaine said quietly.

"Not when it counts, apparently", Kurt said softly.

Blaine looked away. The atmosphere in the room changed rapidly.

"What were you even thinking? You could have died", Kurt said. He sounded almost angry.

"So it would have been better if you had taken those hits instead?", Blaine asked, his jaws clenched. "And why do you even care why I did it?"

"I care because I didn't think you did", Kurt said.

"That's a terrible answer", Blaine snorted.

Kurt just smiled, although it wasn't his usually bright smile. He seemed too sad for that right now.

"Perhaps, but it's true. I just can't understand how you can do and say all these terrible things, and then out of nowhere you do something like this", he said.

"Yeah, well, don't get too excited. I'm still a terrible person. I was only trying to get to the Snitch first", Blaine said in another pathetic attempt to keep up the distance between them.

Kurt looked down at his hands which were neatly folded in his lap.

"You're not a terrible person", he said quietly.

"And how would you know that?", Blaine asked angrily.

"Blaine, if you could just stop with the whole 'I'm a mean Slytherin'-act for one minute, I would appreciate it", Kurt said and looked up again.

Blaine rolled his eyes.

He didn't really know why he was being such a bitch. Perhaps he just wanted Kurt to stop being so nice because it was really difficult to hate him when he was.

Kurt glanced somewhat shyly at him before he instead turned his gaze towards his hands again. He took a deep breath.

"I was wrong", he said.

"About what?", Blaine asked.

"About you. You're still the boy who played chess with me for five hours straight and who shared his sweets with me because I had never tried wizard's candy before, and who sat next to me when I saw Hogwarts for the very first time. You haven't changed, at least not on the inside", Kurt said.

Blaine sat up a little straighter, even though it made his entire body ache.

Then he realised that Kurt was blushing. He looked adorable.

"Wow, that came out a lot cheesier than I thought", he mumbled.

"No, it wasn't cheesy. Thank you", Blaine said sincerely.

Kurt smiled, and this time it was a lot closer to his usual smile.

"So, you said before that you were looking for someone to help you with Transfiguration... have you found anyone yet?", he asked carefully.

Blaine gave a heavy sigh.

"No, no one wants to help me. But who am I to judge them, I haven't really treated people well lately", he said.

"Not really, no", Kurt said with a forced laugh. Then he bit his lip.

"I can teach you if you want to", he said.

"Really?", Blaine asked disbelievingly.

"Yeah. It's the least I can do now that you've practically saved my life", Kurt said with a shrug.

"Oh. Thank you, Kurt. Really", Blaine said. There was a warmth in his voice that neither of them were used to hearing.

Kurt smiled.

"So, how about we have our first study session next Wednesday? After dinner?", he suggested.

"Yeah, sure. Um, what day is it today? I mean, for how long was I unconscious?", Blaine asked.

"It's Sunday. You haven't been out that long, actually, I was told it was expected for you to wake up in a few hours but not sooner than that. Guess you're tougher than they thought", Kurt said.

Blaine rolled his eyes, but it wasn't meant to be mean this time.

"Whatever Kurt", he said jokingly.

Before Kurt could answer, though, Terry Schuester had walked in. She was in charge of the hospital wing, and she was also married to professor Schuester.

Her face looked stern and she had her arms determinedly folded across her chest. She was not nearly as nice as her husband.

"It's been half an hour", she said.

"Oh, right", Kurt said and got to his feet.

He looked over at Blaine, who once again felt extremely uncomfortable about the fact that he was probably looking about as helpless as a small puppy in this position.

"I'll see you Wednesday, then", Kurt said.

Then he went over to the door, gave a small wave and disappeared from view and left Blaine with Mrs Schuester who roughly asked him how he was doing. He had never been particularly fond of her.

* * *

><p>"Oh my god, you look fabulous in that shirt!"<p>

"What? Oh, thank you, Cedes."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Well, something's up. I can tell. You're usually all excited when we talk about clothes."

"Can- can I tell you something?"

"Of course, Kurt."

"You have to promise not to get mad."

"Sure, whatever."

"Promise!"

"Alright, I promise! Now spill."

"You know last week when professor Pillsbury asked us to help Blaine because he was failing Transfiguration?"

"Yeah, I remember. What about it?"

"I promised him I'd tutor him."

"_You did what_?"

"You promised not to be mad!"

"I'm not! Okay, yeah, I am mad. Oh Kurt, baby, why would you do that? After how he's been treating you?"

"I know he hasn't been very nice-"

"Well, that's the understatement of the year!"

"-but you don't know what he's _really_ like. He's really sweet. Just look at what he did at the Quidditch game!"

"But Kurt, you're just fooling yourself. He is a really twisted kid and I've got a bad feeling about him. Nothing good can come of being around him."

"You don't know that. Yes, he's a little twisted, but that's not his fault. You have no idea how terrible his family is to him."

"I still really think this is a bad idea."

"Yeah, well, I don't. Besides, professor Pillsbury promised me extra credit if I helped tutoring him, and I need all the extra points I can get. You know I want to get an 'Outstanding' in my OWL."

"But that's two years from now!"

"So what? It's not too early to think about it now."

"Kurt, I-"

"Okay, forget I even said anything. Let's just get back to work."

There was a long silence.

"I'm only saying this because I love you so much and I don't want you to get hurt. You know that, right?"

"I know. I love you too, Mercedes."

* * *

><p>"No. You've got to be kidding me! Blaine, have you actually lost your mind? Associating with a Mudblood!", Sebastian hissed.<p>

"It's not like I have a choice! He's the only one who wants to help me and my parents will kill me if I fail a subject", Blaine defended himself.

"Dude, I think they would prefer you failing Transfiguration over you spending time with that kid", Puck said.

"Look, it's not like I'm gonna marry him, so what's the big deal? He'll just help me with some work and then we'll never talk again", Blaine said impatiently.

He hadn't expected this much resistance from his friends, and now he was regretting mentioning it in the first place.

"Yeah, that would be just great, if you were both gay and a blood traitor", Sebastian snorted.

A blood traitor was someone with pure blood who associated with Muggles or Muggle borns.

"I'm not gay!", Blaine said, mortified. "And I'm not a blood traitor either."

Sebastian rolled his eyes.

"Relax, you don't have to start crying", he said.

Blaine shot him a nasty look.

"Shut up", he snarled.

"Yeah, alright, do whatever you want to do. I just think it's a really dumb idea", Sebastian said.

"As I said: I don't have a choice. Now can you leave? I'm getting a headache", Blaine said and bit his lip.

They all got up and left. Trent gave him a sympathetic smile before he followed the other two out.

* * *

><p>Then Wednesday rolled around. Blaine had been let out from the hospital wing the day before, and he had just gotten back to his daily routines.<p>

His first day back didn't start off too good.

In Potions, his first class, he accidentally melted his cauldron.

Professor Sylvester didn't take any points for it, though. Blaine knew, however, that she didn't do it because she thought it fair to cut him some slack because he had just been let out from the hospital wing after serious damage to his head and ribs, but rather because she did everything she could to avoid docking points from her own House.

Had it been a Gryffindor that had melter their cauldron, she would have been sure to take at least 20 points for it, no matter if they had been in the hospital wing or not.

In his next class, Care of Magical Creatures, he got his hand burned by a particularly nasty Fire crab.

It hurt pretty badly throughout the day, and he didn't want to go to the hospital wing because he was afraid Mrs Schuester would tell him that he must still have a concussion if he managed to get hurt so quickly after being released, and that he should stay in bed a few more days.

He couldn't stand to be separated from the world like that any longer.

So he tried not to think about the pain in his right hand, which was kind of difficult because he was right-handed and used it all the time in class. He came to realise just how dependent he was of his hands.

Then, at last, the day was over and he was heading to the Great Hall for dinner with his friends.

He was exhausted and didn't talk much. He enjoyed dinner very thoroughly, because he had been forced to skip both breakfast and lunch in order to catch up with all his homework.

Due to his very busy and eventful day, he had completely forgotten about his study plans with Kurt, so he took his time to eat slowly and really enjoy the different flavours.

As he was busying himself with his dinner, he suddenly realised the talking around him had stopped.

He looked up to ask why, but he quickly realised why on his own.  
>Kurt had walked over to the Slytherin table from the Gryffindor one, and had just tapped Blaine on the shoulder to get his attention when he had looked up. Blaine's jaw dropped in shock.<p>

What the hell was he doing? Did he _want_ to get beaten up?  
>"So, I was thinking-", he began, but Blaine hurriedly hushed him.<p>

"Um, guys, I'll see you later then?", he mumbled to Blaine as he quickly got to his feet.

Sebastian nodded slowly, while simultaneously glaring at Kurt like the rest of the Slytherins.

Everyone knew he was Muggle born.

Blaine heard them whisper 'disgrace' and 'blood traitor' as he turned his back on them and hurried out of the Great Hall with Kurt right behind him.

When they had escaped the prying eyes of Blaine's friends, he rounded on Kurt.  
>"Are you actually trying to kill me?", he hissed.<p>

Kurt raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"What do you mean?", he asked.  
>"You can't just walk up to me like that in the middle of dinner! Look, I'm really grateful that you've agreed to help me, but I still have a reputation to think of! Did you not see the way they were looking at you? They hate you! Probably as much as your friends hate me", Blaine said.<p>

Kurt shrugged.

"I'm used to it", he said.

"Well, I'm not! So can you please be discreet about this? We can just meet in the library from now on, my friends are never there", Blaine said.

"Okay. I'm sorry", Kurt said curtly.

Blaine sighed.

"No, it's not your fault. I'm sorry, this whole thing is just making me really nervous. I'm afraid they'll beat me up or something", he admitted.

Kurt's face softened.

"Oh, I'm sure they won't", he said. "Alright then, should we get going? I can't stay longer than perhaps one or two hours so we should get started as soon as possible. Do you know a place where we can go?"

"Perhaps the library?", Blaine suggested.

"Won't this get too loud for that? Considering how loud Transfiguration classes usually are, I mean. It's bound to be frustrating", Kurt said.

"Maybe you're right. We could go ask professor Pillsbury if we can practise in the Transfiguration classroom. She's not using it now anyway", Blaine said.

"It's as good as anything else", Kurt agreed.

Then he hoisted his bag back up on his shoulder and they set off towards professor Pillsbury's office.


	8. Chapter 8

"This is _impossible_! How am I supposed to pass our next exam on third-year level if I can't even do this stupid assignments that first-years does?", Blaine cried, kicking over a chair in frustration.

"No, you're doing great", Kurt protested.

"How can you even say that with a straight face?", Blaine asked angrily, trying to kick over another chair but missing it.

"Well, okay, maybe you're not _terrific_ but it's only been like three sessions. It's only to be expected to have a little trouble with it all in the beginning", Kurt said consolatory.

Blaine sighed heavily and sank down onto the nearest table.

"It's just so frustrating!", he said, glaring at his shoes.

"You just have to keep trying until it gets better. And you did do all of this in our first year, right? So you just have to go back to how you did back then", Kurt said.

"I didn't really pass Transfiguration our first year. But professor Pillsbury told me that she would pass me if I really, really tried to improve", Blaine muttered.

Kurt's mouth fell open without him realising it.

"But what about your second year? Didn't you pass then either?", he asked finally.

"Well, yeah, but only because I cheated", Blaine said and, as the chairs were out of reach, kicked into the air as hard as he could to release some anger.

"You _cheated_?", Kurt whispered.

"Are you really surprised? I'm a foul Slytherin, remember? Not a courageous, honest Gryffindor", Blaine said and rolled his eyes.

"I think you're courageous and honest", Kurt said.

"Really? What would make you say that?", Blaine said sarcastically.

Kurt scowled but continued on.

"Because you really care about your grades even though your friends don't, and you're brave enough to break the norm and let a Gryffindor help you", he said.

"Yeah, well, I-", Blaine began but Kurt cut him off.

"Fighting doesn't help us here. Let's just get back to practising", he said firmly.

Blaine sighed.

"Yeah, alright."

He jumped off the table and took a firmer hold of his wand.

Kurt took a matchbox out of his jeans pocket, picked out a match and placed it on the table in front of him. Then he watched expectantly as Blaine pointed his wand towards the small match, focused hard and tried to transform it into a needle.

The match, indifferent to Blaine's cry of disappointment, remained a match.

"Kurt, I can't do this! This is _ridiculous_. First-years do this and I can't even do it once! Maybe I should just stop trying and accept that I'll have to re-do my third year", he said and sunk onto the table again.

"Just keep trying", Kurt urged.

They spent over an hour practising the spell and then, finally:

"I did it!", Blaine cried.

He was jumping up and down, too excited to know what to do.

Kurt couldn't stop grinning as Blaine continued his streak of happiness around the room, jumping up on tables and leaping between them as if he had never been happier. Then he came down to floor level again and, without really thinking, he wrapped his arms around Kurt and pulled him into a breathtaking hug.

"Thank you so much, Kurt", he said, completely intoxicated with the success.

Then he realised exactly what he was doing, and he quickly let go.  
>Kurt looked weird, and Blaine had no idea how to interpret that look on his face.<p>

What was he even thinking, hugging him like that? He was a Gryffindor. And most importantly, he was a _boy_.

Boys don't just hug other boys. Only if you _liked _them, and Blaine certainly didn't _like_ Kurt. He didn't _like_ any boy.

But before Blaine could apologise or say anything at all, really, Kurt had just went on as if nothing had happened.

"I knew you could do it! Should we continue or do you want to stop for today?", he asked.

He took the little needle and the matchbox and carefully put them in the pocket of his school robe that was neatly hung over the back of a chair.

It was too hot to wear robes indoors so they were both just wearing white long-sleeved dress shirts under a black v-necked sweater combined with a tie. Kurt's tie was red and golden, whilst Blaine's was silver and green, matched with their House colours.

"No, let's keep going! What's the next step?", Blaine asked urgently.

Kurt smiled at his sudden enthusiasm.

"Well, that would probably be the Fera Verto-spell", he said thoughtfully.

Blaine paled a little.

"Really? Do you think I can handle that? I mean, a live animal-", he said hesitantly.

The Fera Verto-spell meant that you transformed an animal into a water goblet.

"We could at least try it, right?", Kurt said merrily. "If you wait here, I'll go get my cat so we can practise on him."

"Oh, are you sure about that? What if I mess him up?", Blaine asked nervously.

"Don't you trust my judgement?", Kurt teased.

"It's not that, I just-", Blaine slurred.

"If you partially transform him into a snail, I'll just bring him back to his usual shape. So don't worry about it", Kurt said, smiled and left the classroom.

Blaine was left alone, and even though Kurt wasn't gone for more than ten minutes, it felt like hours.

Blaine was feeling very conflicted about how he felt about Kurt, and it truly bothered him.

He knew that he, from the very beginning, had thought of Kurt as a friend. Or at least wished him to be a friend.

But had he felt anything more than that? He refused to believe so.

He was straight. He was normal. He wasn't one of those fags that he had seen back home, that got ridiculed almost as much as Muggles and Muggle born. Not that he was ever allowed to hang out with any of them, but he had heard plenty of stories about them and he had seen them around town.

Once, when he was younger, his brother had beaten up a gay kid.

The boy's parents had contacted Blaine's parents, and he had heard their conversation from his room.

His parents had told the other boy's parents that they were sorry and that they would talk to Terry and make things right, but as soon as the other parents had disconnected from the Floo Network, Blaine could hear the laughter and the praising of Terry.

He remembered that he even then couldn't understand how his parents could justify Terry's behaviour. He couldn't understand how anyone could beat someone up, no matter how much you disliked them or their beliefs.

But it wasn't difficult to see where Terry had picked up the idea of beating people up.

Their father had always told them many stories about both homosexuals and Muggle born. How they were an abomination against nature, and that neither should be allowed in the wizarding world. Their father himself had been responsible for a lot of hate-crimes in his life. He told them about it plenty of times with great pride.

"A real man only takes interest in women, Blaine, remember that."

The words rang through his head as clearly as if his father had been standing right next to him.

So what was this that he was feeling about Kurt? Why did he feel a little tingle in his stomach every time Kurt smiled?

Just seeing him made Blaine feel a little safer, a little more at home.

And that day when they first met and they were seeing Hogwarts for the first time...

Blaine still remembered the look on Kurt's face, how he was literally glowing with excitement and happiness. Blaine could honestly not remember a moment when he had felt more at peace.

And that was bad enough. But if he actually _liked_ Kurt, then what future would he have?  
>He couldn't be both a blood traitor <em>and <em>a fag.

He shook his head furiously.

It was stupid. The whole thing was simply stupid and ridiculous and he was just imagining things.

He was straight, had always been and would always be.

Then Kurt returned, clutching his giant cat in his arms.  
>He let it down on the floor, closed the door and locked it magically.<p>

Blaine crouched down on the floor, making gentle clicking sounds with his tongue to attract the cat.

Slowly it edged closer to him, looking suspiciously at him. It's eyes really did look a lot like Kurt's.

But then Blaine put his hand forwards to pet it, and the cat hissed angrily and ran back to Kurt, who picked him up.

"Sssh, honey, he's not going to hurt you", he whispered to it, kissing it's head fondly.

Blaine felt how the blood rushed to his face and he tried desperately to hide it by faking a cough.

"Do you want to hold him? He won't scratch you if you take him gently", Kurt told him after a few seconds.

Careful not to make any sudden movements, Blaine slowly took the big cat from Kurt.

Once he had a secure hold of him, the cat started to purr loudly.

Blaine lightened up.

"Oh, he likes me!", he said with deep relief.

"Another proof that you're not a bad person. Cheshire doesn't let just anybody hold him", Kurt said.

"Cheshire?", Blaine echoed.

"Well, yes. I named him after the Cheshire Cat, it's a character from-", Kurt began, slightly embarrassed.

"-Alice in Wonderland, I know", Blaine finished for him.

"You've heard of it? Oh. I thought that was just a Muggle story", Kurt said with his eyebrows raised.

"Yeah, it is. I borrowed the book from a library when I was nine and I read about half of it before my father found out it was for Muggle children, and he burned it up and forbade me to go back to that library again", Blaine told him.

"Oh, how terrible! It's an excellent book, too bad you never got to finish it", Kurt said.

"Yeah, it's kind of sad I guess, but I'm used to it. How come you named your cat after the Cheshire Cat? He doesn't seem very mischievous", Blaine said.

"Oh, he can be a real tease when he puts his mind to it", Kurt said and smiled fondly at the purring cat. Then he clasped his hands together.

"But we should practise, right? It's nine o'clock already, we've only got thirty minutes until we've got to go back to our dormitories", he said.

He took Cheshire from Blaine's arms and put him down on the table.

"Can you sit still for me, Cheshire?", he said kindly and patted him on the head before he stepped back.

"Should I demonstrate?", he asked Blaine, who nodded curiously.

Kurt pulled his wand from from his pocket and aimed it at the cat.

"Fera Verto!", he said very clearly.

In a matter of seconds, the big cat transformed into a beautiful silver goblet.

Blaine gasped in admiration.

"Wow, that was amazing!", he said.

"Thank you", Kurt said, blushing slightly as he with a flick of his wand untransfigured Cheshire into his usual shape again.

He looked slightly affronted, but didn't move off the table.

"Now you try", Kurt said and sat down on a chair to watch.

Blaine rolled up the sleeves of his shirt, took a deep breath and spoke the same incantation as Kurt had used.

Nothing happened except Cheshire beginning to lick his paws.

Another twenty attempts later and Cheshire was still a, now considerably cleaner, cat.

Blaine let out a frustrated moan and Kurt, seeing that Blaine was on the verge of kicking around chairs again, decided to break it off for the night.  
>Blaine protested wildly at the suggestion.<p>

"No, please Kurt, I'm so close!", he groaned.

"Yes, but it's been half an hour now and we have to go back. I'm sorry, but we really have to stop. We'll just continue next week", Kurt said.

Blaine sighed.

"Yeah, alright."

They pulled on their robes, Kurt picked up Cheshire and Blaine unlocked the door.

They walked through the castle in silence until they came to the point where they had to part.

"I'll see you next week, then", Kurt said.

"Yeah, guess so", Blaine said.

He looked around to make sure they were alone.

"I really appreciate you helping me with this. I know you've got loads of other things to do, too."

"Oh, it's nothing. Besides, I'm having fun, so it's no trouble, really", Kurt said, smiling.

Blaine smiled too, but hid it by looking down at his shoes.

"Yeah, well, me too", he said, slightly awkwardly.

They were silent for a few seconds.

"Well, bye then", Kurt said suddenly.

"Bye."

And then they went their separate ways: Kurt to the Gryffindor tower and Blaine to the Slytherin dungeons.


	9. Chapter 9

"You know, I've been considering joining the choir", Kurt said thoughtfully.

"Really? The Frog Choir?", Blaine asked incredulously.

"What's wrong with that? I really love singing and, well, they do sing kind of boring songs but I would at least get to perform", Kurt said.

"But... what's your range? I mean, there's mostly girls in the choir and they're singing really high-pitched", Blaine said carefully.

"I'm a countertenor, so that won't be an issue", Kurt said proudly.

"Oh, wow, really? That's amazing!", Blaine said admiringly.

"Thank you. I was in an all boys choir when I was younger but I had to quit because the kids in my school teased me for it", Kurt said, and his smile faded a little at the memory.

"That's too bad. I never got to sing in a choir because my dad- er, well, he didn't think it was appropriate. So I've been singing to myself, mostly", Blaine said.

"Oh, you sing too?", Kurt asked happily.

"Yeah, but I don't think I'm anything good, really", Blaine said with a shrug.

"I'm sure you're amazing. Can't you sing something for me?", Kurt asked, his eyes shining.

"What, now?", Blaine asked, glancing nervously over his shoulder.

"Why not? Nobody would care", Kurt said.

"Excuse me, have you never been here before? We're in the library, for god's sake. We would get thrown out", Blaine said.

"So?", Kurt said in a daring whisper.

Blaine stared at him.

"What's gotten into you? What happened to the Kurt that never ever broke the rules?", he asked.

Kurt shrugged.

"We only live once, right? Oh, come on Blaine, I really want to hear you sing", he said.

Blaine kept staring at him.

"Are you high or something?", he asked suspiciously.

Kurt just laughed at him.

"No, I'm not high", he said.

"Well, I am not going to sing to you today, so you might as well put it out of your mind", Blaine said firmly.

"But you are going to some day?", Kurt asked hopefully.

Blaine hesitated.

"Maybe", he said finally.

Kurt smiled happily.

"That's fine, then. You don't have to sing today, we'll just study instead. Have you copied down my notes yet?", Kurt asked and glanced at the parchment in front of Blaine.

It was empty.

Kurt sighed impatiently.

"Blaine, how am I supposed to help you if you won't pay attention?", he asked and pulled the parchment from his grasp. Then he started scribbling down words too quickly for Blaine to be able to read them.

After a few minutes of this, he handed back the parchment for Blaine to read through.

He stared at Kurt for a few seconds.

"How can you write so... perfectly?", he asked.

"What?", Kurt asked absent-mindedly, too busy with his own work to notice Blaine's awe.

"Your letters are so symmetrical and- well, perfect! It looks like you've spent hours on it, not like you just wrote it down in a minute", Blaine said.

Kurt's eyes left his own work and darted back to Blaine's parchment where his neatly shaped words were running down the entire parchment.

"Oh, that's nothing", he mumbled embarrassedly.

But Blaine kept staring, and it made him feel uneasy.

"Well, I've practised a lot on my hand writing. I'm kind of a perfectionist and I can't stand to have a single word looking crooked so I've practised so much that I can even write like that in my sleep", Kurt confessed. He hesitated. "It's ridiculous, I know."

"No, it's not. It's really smart actually. I mean, some professors give extra point for clear hand writing, right?", Blaine said.

Kurt smiled.

"I guess", he said.

Blaine put down the parchment and they continued to study in silence. Kurt was working on a Potions essay whilst Blaine was struggling to interpret his own notes from his previous Transfiguration class. He didn't have the precise hand writing skills that Kurt had.

They were sitting at the far end of the library, hidden behind a book shelf in case some of their friends for some reason would be lurking around the library.

Blaine was getting better at the practical part of Transfiguration, and to escape the dusty classroom where they had been practising, Kurt had suggested that they had that weeks study session in the library instead.

It was just as dusty, if not more, but it was still a nice change of scenery. And Blaine had gotten good enough to not need any more lessons from Kurt, at least not for the moment, but both of them were reluctant to stop seeing the other.

So for the last two times they had been focusing on other things than Transfiguration. Blaine had helped Kurt with a Defence Against the Dark Arts essay, because that was his favourite subject, and Kurt had helped Blaine with, well, practically everything else.

Blaine wasn't stupid, far from it, but he hadn't been paying too much attention in classes because he was so busy trying to stay friends with Sebastian and the others.

"Kurt, can you-", Blaine began, but he didn't make it any further because all of the sudden, Sebastian's face had popped up from behind the book shelf opposite to them.

Blaine stiffened.

"Hey Blaine, having fun?", Sebastian snorted condescendingly. "I thought you said you were done with him."

Blaine was at a loss of words. There was a big lump in his throat that prevented him from speaking and he was trembling slightly.

Kurt must have noticed, because he spoke instead of Blaine.

"Sebastian, is it?", he said calmly.

Sebastian nodded, glaring at him.

"It's my fault, really. He didn't want to come but I really needed his help with my essay so I convinced him to come anyway. I guess he just felt bad for me", Kurt said, smiling ever so calmly.

Sebastian didn't seem to think this made the situation any better.

Blaine still couldn't speak properly.

"I promise I won't bother him again", Kurt continued.

Sebastian kept glaring at him, as if he could make Kurt disappear that way.

"I'll see you at dinner, then", he said to Blaine, and turned on his heel and disappeared.

As soon as he was out of sight, Blaine moaned and buried his head in his books.

"How am I supposed to face him at dinner?", he asked as he reappeared a few moments later.

Kurt looked carefully at him from beneath his eyelashes.

"Well, I guess we shouldn't do this anymore. To make things easier for you", he said, and gestured towards the books that were spread out across the table.

"I guess we shouldn't", Blaine said. He hesitated for a few moments, eyeing Kurt thoughtfully. Then he added, in a more hushed voice, "But Kurt, I really like being with you. We could go back to just practising in professor Pillsbury's classroom."

Kurt lightened up.

"I would really like that", he said.

"So, we'll meet there next Wednesday, then?", Blaine suggested.

"Yes. Or, you know, we could meet up this Friday too", Kurt said, blushing slightly. "To study, I mean."

Blaine blushed too, to his embarrassment.

"Yeah, that sounds great. Around dinner?", he asked.

"Perfect."

Then Blaine hurriedly gathered his books and shoved them into his bag along with quills, ink and parchments.

"Are you staying?", he asked Kurt who hadn't left his seat.

"Yes, I still have to finish this", he said and gestured towards his essay.

Blaine hovered for a moment.

"Do you want me to stay? I could just catch up with Sebastian in the common room instead", he offered.

"No, you can go. I'll see you Friday", Kurt said with a gentle smile.

Blaine nodded and threw his bag over his shoulder.

"Well, I'll see you, then", he said. Then he turned around and walked out of the library.

Kurt followed him with his eyes as long as he could, then a deep sigh escaped his lips and he sunk back into the puffy chair he was seated upon. He closed his eyes and rubbed his thumbs slowly against his temple.

He knew he should have told Blaine to stay away. It was for his own good. Blaine couldn't lose his friends and family just because of him. Kurt wasn't worth it. But it was so difficult to look into those gorgeous hazel eyes and tell him they couldn't spend time together anymore.

How was he supposed to do that? He had wonderful friends in Gryffindor and the other Houses, yes, but Blaine- there was just nothing that compared.

Blaine was just... Blaine.

And he was really difficult to let go of.

Blaine had just gotten back to the Slytherin common room when Sebastian cornered him.

"Well, explain yourself", he said, arms folded across his chest.

"Didn't you hear what Kurt said?", Blaine asked, trying to keep his voice steady and, hopefully, even sharp.

"I heard him", Sebastian snarled. "But if what he's saying is true, it doesn't make you look too good anyway, does it?"

"What do you mean?", Blaine asked.

"He asked you to help him out when he's supposed to be helping you. Instead of telling him to get lost, you agreed to help him. And if you, a supposedly strong Slytherin, can't even stand up for yourself against _him,_ a lousy Gryffindor, then what does that say about you?", Sebastian asked.

"It was just one time, Sebastian, it doesn't mean-", Blaine began.

"It _means_, that you have to watch your steps. Look, Blaine, you're my best friend. I wouldn't want you to get into any trouble because of your bad habit of helping people who are less than you. Alright? Just be careful with him. He can't be trusted", Sebastian said.

Then he gave Blaine a sympathetic pat on the shoulder before he went to their dormitory.

Blaine didn't follow him. Instead he sat down in one of the cushioned seats, picked out his books and continued working on his Transfiguration homework.

* * *

><p>"What do you think of these?", Kurt asked, spinning around to show off the black pair of pants he was wearing. As he twirled, it glittered as if tiny, tiny diamonds was engraved in them.<p>

Blaine looked up from the parchment on which he had been writing his Charms essay. He was supposed to explain how Cheering Charms worked. He had only managed to come up with about two feet worth of parchment so far, and he needed the double.

He choked slightly as he set eyes on the twirling boy in front of him. It was like one of those moments in romantic movies when the guy sees the girl for the first time and then suddenly everything is in slow motion.

"Hello? Blaine? Are you listening?"

Blaine was brought back to reality by Kurt's anxious voice. He had been staring for several minutes, apparently.

"Oh, right, sorry. Yeah, they look great", Blaine said hoarsely.

Kurt was still looking worried, so Blaine forced himself to smile.

What the hell was happening to him? This had been happening an awful lot lately: Kurt doing something, for everyone else completely irrelevant, and Blaine just froze completely, unable to speak. He just couldn't help it.

Kurt had these little things about him that just fascinated Blaine without mercy. Ironically, it was as if Kurt was the snake who hypnotized it's prey, and Blaine was the prey. He was the scared little mouse, about to get eaten alive.

Kurt constantly blew him away, and there was nothing he could do about it.

Sure, he had always known that Kurt was attractive. That wasn't a secret, everyone knew it.  
>But he had never felt like <em>this <em>before.

It was as if a thousand butterflies were fluttering around in his stomach, his heart raced and he felt slightly light-headed as soon as he saw Kurt. He couldn't remember ever feeling this way before.

He didn't know what stirred this, he only knew it had something to do with Kurt.

He forced himself to shake the feeling off, get himself together and re-focus on his essay.

But it was extremely difficult, because Kurt had given up on getting Blaine's advise on clothes and had now settled down in the seat next to Blaine, leaning closer to him to supervise his work.

Blaine could feel his heart racing and he was sure Kurt could hear it.

Blaine discreetly leaned away from him so they weren't so close. But even then they were so close to each other that Blaine could _smell_ him.

"No, Blaine, that's not right. Let me-", Kurt began and took the quill from his hand. He took away the parchment, too, and continued where Blaine had left off.

Blaine just sat there and watched him. The helpless mouse watching the snake.

He watched how Kurt's forehead wrinkled only slightly as he thought over what to write next. His eyelashes were impossibly long. Had they always been that way?

Blaine shook his head quickly, trying desperately to think of anything but how close he was to Kurt.  
>He could actually touch him, touch that perfect, smooth hair just inches away. If he wanted to.<p>

He stiffened. No, this wasn't happening. Whatever he was feeling wasn't real. He was hallucinating.  
>He twisted out of his seat and picked up his bag.<p>

"I've got to- I've got to-", he mumbled.

Kurt looked up from the parchment, his eyebrows furrowed.

"What's up?", he asked.

"I- I'll see you Saturday", Blaine said, stuffing things into his bag without really checking what he got his hands on.

Saturday was the day of the next Quidditch game. Slytherin vs. Hufflepuff.

He coaxed the parchment from Kurt's hand and put it in his bag too.

"Are you sure you're-", Kurt began. He looked worried.

Blaine stopped in the middle of the insane packing.

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine", he said.

"Blaine, I can see something's wrong. Did I do something?", Kurt asked.

He was still sitting down, his hands folded on the table that Blaine had half-emptied.

"You- you-", Blaine stuttered.

His heart was racing, his mind was spinning. His insides were squirming so much it felt like he was about to hurl them up.

Why was he reacting this way?

It was that look in Kurt's eyes. Those clear, blue eyes looking at him with such genuine concern.

Like he actually cared about how Blaine was feeling. Like he actually wanted to know what he was thinking, what bothered him.

And Blaine just couldn't take it. He couldn't stand that look. Those eyes.

"I have to go", he repeated.

Then he turned on his heel and disappeared before Kurt could call him back.


	10. Chapter 10

The song is What difference does it make, by The Smiths. I figured there should be a little more music in here, and The Smiths are great, so yeah.  
>I just wanted to say thank you for the reviews and all the story alerts. I'm glad you like it! I tried to upload this as quickly as possibly to not keep you all waiting. I'll try to update again as soon as I finish the next chapter!<p>

* * *

><p>Just like the last time ha faced a Quidditch match, Blaine woke up way too early on the day of the game. But he slept even worse that night than he had on the night before the match against Gryffindor. It wasn't the match itself that distressed him, really. They were just playing against Hufflepuff, and they were no real threat. The Gryffindor team were much more difficult to beat.<p>

But the thing that kept him up for the most part of the night was Kurt. Blaine hadn't spoken to him since he had run out on him. It had only been a few days, but it was still affecting him not to have Kurt around. He had gotten so used to seeing him at least once a day, even if they didn't always speak they always made eye contact over the crowds.

But now he had avoided looking anywhere above ground level. He didn't really know why he avoided Kurt. Maybe it just scared him how much he wanted to see him, because he knew he really shouldn't be feeling that way. Not about Kurt, of all people.

At six o'clock he decided it was too late for another attempt at sleep. He got dressed, slipped out of the dormitory as quietly as possibly as his friends were still asleep and headed for the Great Hall for breakfast. Even though the Hufflepuffs probably wouldn't be too difficult to beat, he was still getting nervous.

He doubted he would be able to eat anything, but he would perhaps be able to drink some coffee. He was not the first one to arrive. There were a handful of people there, but only two of them were sitting at the Slytherin table.

Blaine sat down at the other side of the table, as far away from everyone else as possible. The table was filled with all kinds of breakfast alternatives. There were sausages, bacon, toast, porridge, tea, and- aha, coffee!

He poured himself a cup and took the first sip carefully as to not burn his tongue.

Then he sat there for a while, silently drinking his coffee while trying to calm himself.  
>He needed to focus on the game. Focus on winning and catching the Snitch.<p>

He sighed and took another gulp of coffee, but he wasn't careful enough and accidentally burned his tongue.

"Damn!", he hissed and pulled a glass carafe filled with water towards him.

He quickly poured himself a glass and drank it in one single try.

"Having a nice morning?", a voice came from behind him.

Blaine turned around, still holding the empty glass in his hand. He glanced up at Kurt, who was standing next to him, smiling calmly. Then he sat down next to Blaine.

By the Slytherin table.

"What are you doing?", Blaine hissed, slamming his glass down on to the table.

"Eating", Kurt said lightly, loading his plate with toast, eggs and a small bowl of yoghurt.

"Here? At the Slytherin table? Have you lost your mind?", Blaine asked, glancing over his shoulder.

"Oh, no one's here yet anyway. Besides, this seems to be the only way to get you to talk to me", Kurt said, focusing on his toast rather than on Blaine.

Blaine just kept staring.

"But- but you can't just-", he stuttered.

Kurt rolled his eyes and put some jam on his toast. Then he offered it to Blaine who accepted it without really thinking, and kept watching as Kurt began to spread jam on another piece.

"You'll need your strength today", Kurt explained and put the other piece of toast in front of Blaine, too.

"I don't need a baby sitter", Blaine snarled. But he did feel hungry now that he thought about it, so he took a bite of the toast, ignoring the "I told you so"-look that Kurt was giving him.

Kurt smiled and helped himself to a cup of coffee.

"It's only Hufflepuff", Blaine muttered.

"Well, if you weren't so focused on prejudices you would know that they are actually quite good", Kurt said.

"Not compared to us", Blaine said.

Kurt raised his eyebrows.

"Are you really that arrogant?", he asked.

"It's not arrogant, it's the truth. You've played us, you know how good we are", Blaine said.

"And you honestly don't see why people don't like you people?", Kurt joked.

"It's better to be feared than loved", Blaine said shortly.

Kurt rolled his eyes.

"You just haven't met the right person", he said.

Blaine felt a blush spread across his face and tried desperately to hide it behind his coffee cup.

Kurt gave him an evaluating look before he got to his feet.

"I'll leave you alone, then. Good luck on the pitch", he said and turned to leave.

"But don't too much luck though, right? You wouldn't want me to win over Hufflepuff, would you?", Blaine asked, a hint of bitterness in his voice.

Kurt turned back to him. There was a mix of emotions in his eyes that Blaine couldn't interpret.

"I sincerely hope you win today, Blaine. Don't look so surprised. I'm always on your side, you just refuse to believe it", Kurt said. Then he smiled. "I'm sure you'll be amazing as always. Just don't chase after the Bludges this time, alright?"

Before Blaine could respond, Kurt had turned away again and disappeared.

He sat there completely motionless for a few minutes, staring at the spot where Kurt had been only a few moments ago, when suddenly Puck and Sebastian tackled him to the floor in a friendly "Are you ready for the game"-wrestle. Blaine shrugged everything else off and re-focused his mind on winning the game. He refused to let Kurt get to him.

But no matter how much he tried to deny it, Kurt's words had started another revolution of fluttering butterflies in his stomach, and it... it felt good.

* * *

><p>"Another ten points to Hufflepuff!"<p>

Blaine cursed under his breath and did a few quick loops in the air to let out some of the anger that was flooding through him.

Hufflepuff were ahead with 80 points to 30.

Santana and Sebastian were losing patience which only resulted in them doing more mistakes.

Karofsky and Puck were going nuts with their Beaters bats, swinging them at players instead of the Bludgers when Ken Tanaka wasn't looking.

The Hufflepuff Seeker, a boy named Rory Flanagan, was trailing after Blaine persistently. It was making Blaine irrationally annoyed, and he was just about to veer his broom around and scream at him when Kurt's friend Mercedes Jones, once again commenting on the game, declared that Slytherin had scored.

Blaine looked around and met Sebastian's eye. He gave a thumbs up, grinned widely and zoomed over to Karofsky who had waved him over.

Blaine hovered slightly above all the other players, allowing himself a second of happiness before he re-focused on finding the Snitch.  
>The Hufflepuff Keeper, Finn Hudson, had been too busy flirting with his girlfriend in the audience stands to notice Santana approaching the goal hoops, and once he realised the threat she had already scored.<p>

Blaine could see some of the Hufflepuff players flying over to him and telling him off for not being focused enough. Blaine had to suppress a laugh when he saw the mortified look on Finn's face.

Blaine had never really liked him. He was too cocky and annoying.

After a few moments of gloating, he once again turned to look for the Snitch. He hadn't had a single glimpse of it so far. Judging by the way Rory was still trailing after him, he hadn't seen it either.

The Hufflepuff Captain and Beater, Sam Evans, aimed a Bludger at Sebastian and made him drop the Quaffle. One of the Hufflepuff Chasers – Blaine didn't know his name – picked it up and sped towards the Slytherin hoops. And he scored.

"90-40 to Hufflepuff!"

Blaine cursed loudly. They couldn't possibly be losing against _Hufflepuff._ It was ridiculous.

Trent caught his eye from his post by the hoops. He looked on the verge of breaking down.

Then he gave Blaine a look that too clearly confirmed the thought that Blaine had been avoiding: Blaine had to catch the Snitch, and he had to catch it _now_, before Hufflepuff humiliated them even further.

Blaine gave Trent a curt nod and then he pointed his broom upwards to get a better look at the area.

He shielded his eyes with his hand, trying to make out a flash of gold somewhere despite of the sunshine that was irritating his eyes. Then he, all the way across the pitch, saw Rory dive. He must have seen what Blaine had missed.

He was just about to go into the dive with him when something flashed by his ear.

He twisted his neck around so quickly it hurt, but he couldn't care less. It was the Snitch, and it was now rapidly disappearing away from him.  
>Instead of following Rory he set off after the small, golden ball that had been deceiving him for too long. He leaned forward so much he almost slipped over the edge of his broom to make it go faster.<p>

He was getting closer. The roar of the crowd had been automatically tuned out and his entire universe evolved around catching the Snitch. He was so close now-

And then he saw Rory coming up on his right side, also leaned over his broom to increase its speed.

Blaine clenched his jaw determinedly. They needed this win. He couldn't let Rory get there first.

The Snitch took a dive and Blaine smoothly tilted his broom down and followed it, but Rory was too slow and lost several important seconds as he re-manoeuvred his broom after Blaine.

Blaine darted between players and the elevated audience towers, never letting the Snitch get out of his sight. He was slowly catching up with it.

But then, in the distance, he heard someone cry out, "Bludger!", and he instinctively ducked.

The next second it came soaring over his head. He didn't look to see who had saved him, but kept pursuing the Snitch. Rory had passed him and was now closer to the Snitch than he was.

But then the Snitch did another quick turn, and Blaine followed it but Rory didn't.

"He needs to learn how to fly", Blaine thought to himself as he once again was ahead.

It was just inches away now, he could just reach out and touch it-

But then it sped off again.

He pursed his lips and increased his own speed. This was getting ridiculous. It was just there, he could almost touch it.

And he got too impatient with the chase, so instead of trailing after it like he should, he just leapt off his broom and stretched out his hand.

He wasn't too far above the ground and he quickly estimated that the fall wouldn't hurt him too badly. It was worth it, anyway, if he could get his hands on the Snitch.

He could feel the golden surface against his fingertips. It was slipping away, and he could feel himself falling. But instead of admitting defeat, he did another small leap, and closed his fingers around the small ball. It struggled to get loose, so he kept a firm grip on it.

Then he fell the few last feet to the ground. He landed on his rear and his hands hit the ground first and protected the rest of his body, so the damage was limited. It hurt, but not too much. A bandage around his wrists and a couple of pain killers and he would be fine.

Although his hand was hurting he was still holding the Snitch. It was giving up the struggle, and it's wings were soon folded in defeat.

Blaine suddenly got his hearing back, and the roar of the crowd almost deafened him.

The Slytherin team had landed on the ground and were now hugging him and praising him.

"Awesome job, midget!", Santana said with a smile.

Blaine smiled back.

The Slytherin supporters had went down on to the pitch too, and they were now surrounding him and cheering him on. He immediately spotted Kurt who was still sitting in the stands with his friends. Kurt met his eye and smiled brightly.

Blaine saw him giving him a thumbs up before a fifth-year Slytherin girl threw her arm around Blaine and kissed his cheek.

"You were awesome", she whispered seductively.

Blaine stiffened and shook her off as politely as he could.

Then Sebastian came over and gave him a pat on the shoulder and congratulated him.

The girl gave them both a loathing glare before she disappeared.

Blaine sighed of relief.

"What's wrong?", Sebastian asked.

He had helped Blaine out of the cheering crowd and they were not heading to the changing rooms with the rest of the team.

"Nothing is wrong. Didn't you see how I just won us the game?", Blaine asked, smiling almost hysterically.

He couldn't stop. He was just so thrilled and proud and excited.

His team hadn't done a very great job but _he_ had done exactly what he was supposed to do. He was the star of the day, and it felt awesome.

"Yeah, that was great, but you just blew that girl off", Sebastian said.

"Yeah", Blaine said slowly.

"Why? She was hot", Sebastian said.

"Uh, yeah, well, I'm not looking for a relationship", Blaine said.

"Who said anything about a relationship?", Sebastian said with a smirk.

"I- I-", Blaine stuttered.

"Yeah, you should hit that!", Puck called from the other side of the changing room.

Blaine blushed furiously.

"I'm not going to _hit that_, Puck", he said indignantly.

Puck shrugged.

"I would", he said.

Blaine rolled his eyes.

He was, as usual, deliberately slow in the process of undressing, showering and dressing.

When the others were ready, he gave them permission to leave.

"No, don't wait for me, I haven't even showered yet. I'll see you at dinner", he said when Sebastian asked for the final time if he should wait.

His friends usually left him behind without thinking about it but sometimes they were really reluctant to do so, and unfortunately they seemed to act that way the times when Blaine particularly wanted to be alone. This was one of those times.

Finally Sebastian gave up and left. Blaine got in the shower and, being in such a good mood, decided to clean his hair very thoroughly and with both shampoo and conditioner.

He whistled to himself as he got out of the shower, and as he dressed he unconsciously began singing.

_All men have secrets and here is mine  
>So let it be known<br>For we have been through hell and high tide  
>I can surely rely on you<br>And yet you start to recoil  
>Heavy words are so lightly thrown<br>But still I'd leap in front of a flying bullet for you_

_But now you know the truth about me  
>You won't see me anymore<br>Well, I'm still fond of you, oh-ho-oh_

Before he could go on, he heard the door creak. He spun around and, exactly like last time, he found Kurt standing in the door.

"Oh, don't stop", he said softly.

Blaine just stared at him, his mouth wide open. He was at least fully dressed this time. But how long had Kurt been standing there?  
>Kurt seemed to sense the question, and blushed as he shook his head.<p>

"I wasn't... you know. I just came to congratulate you and then I heard you sing and I didn't want to interrupt you", he said.

He took a step forward so he could close the door behind him.

Blaine watched him carefully.

"I'm not going to bite you", Kurt joked.

But he seemed a little put back by Blaine's stiff reaction.  
>Blaine felt bad. He was truly happy Kurt had come to see him, even if it made him confused just how happy it made him.<p>

"So, you like The Smiths, then?", Kurt said, smiling.

"Yeah, I've heard a couple of songs", Blaine said dismissively.

He didn't want to talk about that. There were more important things to discuss.

"Why are you here?", he asked.

Kurt looked hurt at the accusing tone, and it made Blaine's defences crumble even more.

"I'm happy to see you, really, I am. But why do you insist on coming _here_? It's enemy territory", he said.

"You're not my enemy", Kurt said simply.

"Maybe I'm not, but my friends certainly are", Blaine said.

Kurt shrugged. Then he smiled excitedly, quickly but smoothly changing the subject.

"Blaine, you were amazing out there. I mean, Rory was trying to trick you when he was going into that dive. But you didn't go for it, instead you just went the other direction and caught the Snitch. And you threw yourself off your broom just to get it! You should have seen Rory's face afterwards, he was so shocked. But then again, we were all pretty shocked. It was just so amazing! You're so devoted and focused and oh my god, I was so scared when you fell because I thought you was hurt but then you got right back up so I figured it can't have been that bad. But then again, you never show people a weakness if you can avoid it, so I thought I'd drop by to see that you were okay."

Kurt talked so fast that Blaine almost didn't understand what he was saying.

But once he figured out all the words, the meaning of them all nestled their way into his heart.

He felt an intense urge to wrap his arms around Kurt, but he managed to keep himself from acting on it.

"I'm sorry, I'm a wreck", Kurt said with an embarrassed laugh. "It was just breathtaking. I actually couldn't breathe during those moments between you falling and then getting up from the ground again. Mercedes had to pinch me really hard just to snap me out of it. Oh god, I really am sorry, I shouldn't just come here and ramble on about irrelevant things. You should be celebrating with your friends, not be stuck in here with me. I'm sorry."

He was just about to leave but that stirred something in Blaine. He couldn't leave, he couldn't disappear. He needed to stay, if only for a few more moments.

"Kurt, no, wait-", he got out.

His voice was trembling and he sounded just as terrified as he was.

Kurt turned back to him. He looked worried.

"What is it? Is something wrong?", he asked.

Blaine stared into his eyes for a few seconds – those gorgeous, blue eyes that always fascinated and hypnotized him to madness.

Later he wouldn't be able to explain why he had done it, but in the moment it felt so right. And how can something that feels so right be wrong?

He took a trembling step towards Kurt, and they were now so close that Blaine could smell his skin. He smelled so good Blaine could cry.

What did he care if his father kicked him out, or if his friends never wanted to see him again, or if society would forever mark him as a disgusting freak.

The only thing that mattered was how close Kurt was, and how his eyes were slightly glassy as he glanced at Blaine from under his eyelashes. His lips looked smooth and slightly pink, and Blaine couldn't keep his eyes from them. Kurt's lips were just as hypnotizing as his eyes.

The butterflies in Blaine's stomach were ten times more energetic now than when they had been in the library a few days ago.

Blaine met Kurt's gaze again as he leaned in painfully slowly. Kurt's eyelids fluttered shut, as did Blaine's.

When their lips finally met, it was like an explosion of feelings too long buried beneath the surface.

Kurt gasped and wrapped his arms around Blaine's neck, and he responded by pulling Kurt impossibly close to his own body.  
>His wrists were throbbing painfully but he didn't care.<p>

It felt like the kiss went on forever.  
>Blaine's mind was foggy and completely shut off, leaving him with only his feelings to guide him.<p>

And the feeling of Kurt's impossibly soft lips against his own overpowered any feeling of shame or confusion that had earlier possessed him.

He was actually _kissing_ Kurt. After years of painful and suppressed longing, he was actually holding Kurt in his arms. He couldn't wrap his mind around it.

Finally, they had to part to catch their breaths. They were both panting slightly, but neither one allowed the other to pull away.

"Wow", Kurt said with a content sigh.

Blaine smiled.

"Yeah", he agreed.

But then reality hit him like brick. His father. His friends. The horrible consequences of this spontaneous action.

He slipped out of Kurt's embrace and created enough distance between them to allow his mind to sharpen up again and clean up the mess his feelings – his heart – had done.

Blaine felt panic rise within him. He needed to get out, away from Kurt and his tempting lips. His eyes found the door, his only escape plan.

As many times before, Kurt seemed to be able to read his mind. He, too, panicked.

If Blaine left now, who knew if they would ever sort things out?

"Blaine, no, don't go. I know it's scary but please don't go", Kurt pleaded.

Blaine's eyes darted back to him again.

"I- I can't-", he stuttered.

"Yes, you can. We'll figure it out, we'll-", Kurt said, tears forming in his eyes.

He lay his hand on Blaine's arm, but the effect was the reverse of his intention.

Instead of calming him it made Blaine panic even more.

"No, I can't. This was a mistake, I can't do this, I'm sorry. I have to go", he said quickly.

"Blaine, please-", Kurt whispered.

Tears were now rolling down his cheek and it made Blaine ache horribly.

"I'm sorry", he choked.

Then he turned around, grabbed his bag and ran out of the room.


	11. Chapter 11

I'm sorry this chapter is so boring but I just felt like I needed to update. I promise the next one will be much better.

* * *

><p>Blaine didn't participate in the celebration that night.<br>The Slytherins had been partying all night, and since Blaine was the reason for it, they tried their hardest to make him stay when he arrived at the common room after running out on Kurt.

But Blaine was too emotional and upset with himself to have the energy. He snapped at Sebastian, who was the most persistent, and fled to their dormitory. When Trent came in to see if he was okay half an hour later, he pretended to be asleep. He didn't want any comfort, and he especially didn't want any questions.

He couldn't stand looking at his friends, knowing how scared of him they would be if they knew what he had just done. They were just as homophobic as Blaine's father.

Just look at the atmosphere in the changing room after every Quidditch game. Everyone was so awkward and there was always some guy that got accused of peeking. If this secret got out, Blaine would lose everything. He would get kicked off the team and no one would dare to be around him.

And now he had lost Kurt too. He had been honourably patient in the past, but soon he wouldn't put up with Blaine's craziness anymore. No sane person would have stayed this long, and even though Kurt really was extraordinary, even he couldn't stay much longer after this.

Blaine wasn't sure what sort of feelings Kurt had for him, but he doubted they were particularly deep. Blaine had done nothing to deserve that. He was still amazed that Kurt had kissed back instead of punching him in the face. Kurt really wasn't the violent kind of guy, but he could have at least shoved Blaine away. But no, he had kissed Blaine back. But why?

What could Blaine possibly have that Kurt desired? He could have any girl he pointed at. And Blaine wouldn't be surprised if even some of the boys would turn gay for Kurt. Everybody loved him. He was kind, adorable, brave and unbelievably gorgeous.

He was one of those boys who could just sail through life depending on his looks. But he would never have to do that because he was so intelligent and ambitious that he could do anything he set his mind to. He had it all.

Blaine groaned quietly. His heart was taking control of his brain again.  
>If he wanted to get over Kurt, like he knew he had to, he couldn't think those thoughts. He couldn't keep dwelling over how painfully perfect Kurt was.<p>

He needed to get his priorities straight, and that was graduating from Hogwarts with as good grades as possible and his circle of friends still intact. And if that meant no Kurt, then so be it. It was just a stupid crush.

But, as always, life was not planning on making things easy for Blaine.

As soon as he stepped into the Transfiguration classroom the Tuesday after the game, professor Pillsbury cornered him.

"Kurt told me you two have stopped practising Transfiguration", she said.

"Yeah", Blaine said awkwardly.

"Why? You have not obtained the required level of knowledge and you really improved when you where practising with him so I don't understand why you would stop", she said, a slight frown on her forehead.

"I- some things happened and I don't think he wants to help me anymore", Blaine said hesitantly.

He liked professor Pillsbury, and he wanted to tell her the real reason why he had to throw his tutor and best friend away, but he knew he really shouldn't.

"Oh, why wouldn't he? He is so nice", she said.

"He is, it's just- well, I'm the problem", Blaine said.

Her eyebrows shot upwards again.

"I'm sure he'll forgive whatever you did", she said.

Blaine smiled sadly.

"It's complicated. Anyway, isn't there anything else I can do?", he asked.

"Don't take this the wrong way, I think you are a very nice boy, but I seriously doubt you will make it into your fourth year if you don't get that boy to help you again", she said as nicely as she could.

"Are you sure there's-"

She gave him a compassionate smile and then shook her head.

"I suggest you do anything you can to make him help you again", she said.

And then she left and Blaine went to sit at his usual table. Kurt was sitting a few tables away, but Blaine didn't meet his gaze even though he could feel it on him.

He resisted Kurt for another week. Kurt tried to talk to him when they met in the hallways, so Blaine did everything he could not to put himself in that situation. He took long detours to get to his classes as to not run into him.

Unfortunately there were classes that he shared with Kurt and the Gryffindors, and then he made sure to be late so Kurt wouldn't be able to corner him before class. And as soon as the bell rang at the end of class, he escaped the classroom as quickly as possibly.

But one week after his encounter with professor Pillsbury, he got back the result of their most recent essay. He had received a big, fat D for Dreadful. He suspected professor Pillsbury had set him a D instead of a T (for Troll, the lowest mark you could get) in an effort to be nice to him.

His essay certainly hadn't deserved any higher than T, but professor Pillsbury was known for refusing to hand out T's except for the handful students for which even she saw no future in Transfiguration.

As she passed his table to hand out his essay, she met his eye and gave a short nod. He loosely translated it into "This is your last chance to step up your game or I will actually give you a T."

The fourth-years final exams weren't until the end of the year, so he still had time left. But stepping up his game meant going back to Kurt for help. Could he handle it without admitting his undying love for the Gryffindor? He didn't really have a choice, though. He had to control himself.

At the end of that class, he didn't run out like he had done the last times. Kurt made no attempt to come up to him, though. He just made some small talk with his friends as he carefully put his things in his bag, folded the parchment on which he had written down notes and put it in his Transfiguration text book.

Blaine deliberately packed his own things slowly so the classroom would get empty. He couldn't approach Kurt in front of all those people.

Finally it was just Blaine, Kurt, Mercedes and Tina left. Blaine's friends had already left, of course.

Professor Pillsbury was sitting by her desk but he could see her glancing stealthily at him.

Mercedes was just making some complex movements with her hands to describe something for her friends when she spotted him as he made his way through the tables towards them.

Her facial expression shifted instantly from cheerful to ice cold contempt.

"What are _you_ doing here?", she snarled and tucked her arm under Kurt's and held him in a firm grip.

"I- I wanted to talk to Kurt", Blaine said hoarsely.

Mercedes snorted scornfully.

"As if I'm going to let you anywhere near him now", she said.

The blood drained from Blaine's face. Had Kurt told them about the kiss?

His eyes darted towards him and Kurt gave an almost unnoticeable shake of his head.

Blaine relaxed considerably.

"I-", he began.

"Kurt, let's get out of here", Mercedes said fiercely and tugged on his sleeve to get him to come.

But Kurt stayed put, his eyes locked on Blaine.

"Cedes, it's fine. Can you wait outside? I will just be a minute", he told her with a calm smile.

Both her and Tina gave him a few concerned looks before they agreed and left the classroom. Mercedes shot Blaine a few loathing glares before she disappeared through the door.

"I'll give you two some privacy", professor Pillsbury said and got up from her desk. Blaine had forgotten about her. "Remember to lock the door when you leave, sweetie."

She smiled pleasantly at Kurt, who she seemed to genuinely like, and then at Blaine before she too left.

Kurt made sure to close the door after her and then turned and looked expectantly at him.  
>Blaine was shaking slightly with nervousness.<p>

"So, about that thing the other week-", Blaine began awkwardly. He didn't know how to have this conversation.

"What? Oh, right, the kiss. Well, we don't have to talk about that", Kurt said. He sounded monotone and uninterested.

"We don't?", Blaine asked hesitantly.

"Why would we? It was just a mistake. We were just excited about the game, it didn't really mean anything and I don't like you that way", Kurt said casually.

Blaine was at a loss of words.

He didn't know what feelings were the strongest; the relief of not having to tell Kurt they had no future together, or the stinging disappointment of hearing that the kiss hadn't meant anything to Kurt. He had secretly hoped that Kurt would try to convince him to be with him.

He had hoped that Kurt would fight for him. But, after all, he had done nothing to deserve it. Kurt was obviously not interested. He had just been caught by surprise.

Still, this was probably for the best, no matter how much it hurt.

It was weird, though. Kurt had been crying when Blaine had run out on him. Had that just been an act? And if yes, then why? If he didn't care, if the kiss had not meant anything to him, then why had he been so upset?

Or had he simply decided that Blaine wasn't worth the trouble anymore? That was the most probable.

"Right", he said finally.

"Are we okay, then?", Kurt asked.

"Yeah, of course. Actually, I could need some more help with Transfiguration. If you have time", Blaine said.

Kurt hesitated. Then he nodded.

"Yes, of course I'll help you. Next Wednesday as usual?", he asked.

"Yeah. Thank you so much", Blaine said sincerely.

Kurt smiled.

"You're welcome. I'll see you Wednesday, then", he said.  
>And then he left, leaving Blaine feeling more confused than ever.<p>

Things were back to normal. At least on the surface.

They met every Wednesday, Friday and Saturday to study. As long as they stayed clear of discussing the kiss, they were fine. They joked and laughed and Blaine was once again improving his Transfiguration skills. Kurt was an excellent teacher.

It was difficult, though, to act as if nothing had happened. Because something had happened and it wasn't anything Blaine would ever forget.

It had been his first kiss. And every time he saw Kurt's face he was painfully reminded that he would never get to kiss Kurt again. If he hadn't been such a coward, maybe he could have had a chance with him. He had kissed back, after all.

But now there had been too much drama and Kurt had made it clear that he just saw Blaine as a friend. He should be happy that Kurt wanted to see him at all after all the things Blaine had done. He really didn't deserve it.

One Friday night the two of them were in the Transfiguration classroom. Blaine was once again trying to transfigure Kurt's cat Cheshire into a water goblet.

It didn't go well. They had been practising the spell on several different occasions, but he just couldn't do it.

"This is impossible", Blaine groaned.

"It's tricky until you get the hang of it. Maybe your wrist movement is the problem", Kurt speculated.

Blaine practised the spell without the incantation so Kurt could evaluate his technique.

"If you try holding it like this-", Kurt suggested and repositioned the wand in Blaine's hand.

A deep shiver went through Blaine's body at the simple touch. They hadn't had any physical contact since the kiss.

Their eyes met for a fraction of a second before they both looked away. The tension in the air was almost touchable.

"I, uh- sorry", Kurt mumbled and quickly moved his hand.

"It's okay", Blaine said quietly.

Kurt gazed at him for a few very long seconds before he looked away again, a blush spreading across his face.

Blaine's knees felt weak and the stupid butterflies in his stomach were fluttering like crazy again.  
>Why did he have to be so obvious?<p> 


	12. Chapter 12

Christmas was drawing closer and closer. The castle was starting to fill up with decorations and Christmas carols could be heard around every corner. The Heads of Houses were going around making lists of the students who were staying for Christmas. Kurt was staying because he was curious of the Hogwarts Christmas.

"I've heard so many stories of how beautiful the castle is this time of year. It's kind of hard not to go home, though. This will be my dads first Christmas without me, but at least he has Carole now for company. It's his new wife. And she can even cook, so he won't starve to death. Before they met I always cooked", Kurt said with a laugh.

"Oh, what about your mother?", Blaine asked.

"She died when I was younger", Kurt said.

"Oh, I'm so sorry", Blaine said embarrassedly.

"It's okay. So, what about you? Are you going home for Christmas?", Kurt asked.

"I think I'm going to stay too. I've never experienced the Hogwarts Christmas either. Besides, going home is just code for getting bullied by my brother and having my mom whine about what a terrible son I am for failing school and not even bringing home a girlfriend to show what a social success I am. I wonder what she would say if she knew that everybody hates me", Blaine said with a sad laugh.

"Blaine, can I ask you something personal?", Kurt asked hesitantly.

Blaine nodded.

"Are you straight?", Kurt asked.

"Yes", Blaine answered automatically.

Kurt nodded and carefully avoided eye contact.

Blaine hesitated.

"But to be honest, I really don't think I am", he admitted.

Kurt looked up.

"Me neither", he said.

A slightly awkward silence fell between them. Then Kurt broke it casually.

"It sounds much better to stay at Hogwarts then if Christmas at home is so terrible", he said.

"It's probably the best decision I've made in a long time. My mom wasn't too happy about it, though", Blaine said with a little laugh.

Kurt smiled.

"Are your friends staying too?", he asked innocently.

"No, they're all going home. What about yours?", Blaine asked.

"They are going home too", Kurt said.

"Why don't we spend Christmas together, then? It seems like we'll both be alone anyway", Blaine said.

Kurt smiled widely.

"Really?", he asked.

"Yeah! It will be great, if our friends aren't here then we can hang outside of this old classroom too", Blaine said.

The thought was thrilling. An entire holiday alone with Kurt.

"Well then, it's a date", Kurt said happily.

Then he realised how he had phrased it, and they both blushed but neither protested.

"We should get back to work", Kurt said, still blushing.

Blaine nodded with a shy smile.

Cheshire was lying on the nearest table, cleaning his paws and still managing to throw several mistrustful glares their way. He wasn't too fond of constantly being turned into a goblet.

* * *

><p>On Christmas morning Blaine woke up at 9am. He and Kurt had decided to meet in the Great Hall at 9.30, so he instantly got up and got dressed.<p>

He wanted to look extra nice, so he chose a white dress shirt, a black pair of pants, red suspenders and a red bow tie. He didn't bother to do anything about his hair except comb through it a few times. When he had corrected the bow tie for the hundredth time, he finally went down to the Great Hall. It was practically empty, but breathtakingly beautiful.

The majority of students had went home for Christmas a few days ago, and the castle was almost emptied out. There were about ten students left, including Kurt and Blaine.

As agreed, Kurt was waiting for him outside of the Great Hall. He had really outdone himself.

He was a daily fashion statement and fancy clothes were no stranger to him, but today he was particularly dashing.

He was wearing the same pants he had showed Blaine earlier, a black long-sleeved shirt that fitted him perfectly, combined with a red velvet bow tie. His hair was sprayed with glitter and he had some sort of glitter make up beneath his eyes.

"Wow, you look gorgeous", Blaine said before he could stop himself.

He didn't regret it for too long, though, because Kurt seemed so happy for the compliment.

"Thank you", he said softly. "You look great, too."

Kurt went into the Great Hall to get a few pieces of toast and two cups of coffee, and then they took the portable breakfast with them to the Astronomy Tower. They weren't really allowed there, but the view was so lovely they couldn't resist.

It was quite cold though because the sun hadn't risen properly yet and neither of them had remembered to bring their cloaks. They only stayed there for a few minutes before Kurt was shaking so hard he could barely speak. Then they decided to pack up and eat the rest in one of the many hallways. They settled down and enjoyed the privilege of having some peace and quiet for a change.

Now that their friends were away, they didn't have to hide their friendship. They acted as though they had always been best friends, and both tried to ignore the fact that they just had these few days left before they had to go back to pretending to hate each other. They were, for the time being, in their own private little magic bubble.

"I got you a Christmas gift", Kurt said after a while of comfortable silence.

Blaine's jaw dropped.

"Oh, you really didn't have to", he said, blushing.

Kurt pulled out a squared package from his bag.

It was wrapped neatly in a Christmas themed paper and it had a big red and green bow on top.

Blaine took it and gave it a few thoughtful looks before he opened it carefully.

It was a book. More specifically, it was Alice in Wonderland.

"You said you never finished it when you were a child", Kurt explained, nervously watching Blaine's reaction. "I think everyone should get to read it, because it is a wonderful book."

"It's lovely, Kurt", Blaine said softly.

Kurt sighed out of relief.

"I was afraid you would think it was childish", he admitted.

"I absolutely love it. Thank you so much. But oh, I haven't got anything for you!", Blaine exclaimed.

"Oh, but that doesn't matter", Kurt said lightly.

"It does matter. I feel terrible", Blaine said, ashamed.

"Don't be silly", Kurt said. "You don't have to get me anything at all."

"You know what? Maybe I have something for you after all", Blaine said and got to his feet. Kurt got up too.

Blaine took Kurt's hand and pulled him with him. It wasn't very thought through, and it was probably rude and inappropriate and too personal after what they had been through, but he just followed his instincts.

Besides, no one was there to watch. And it felt right. Being with Kurt felt right.  
>And Kurt didn't let go of his hand, so he didn't waste any more time worrying about it.<p>

They hurried through the castle, hand in hand, until Blaine stayed in an empty hallway. He let go of Kurt and walked back and forth the hallway three times. Kurt was just going to ask what he was doing when suddenly a big door appeared at the recently solid stone wall.

Kurt just stared at it in disbelief.

Then Blaine took his hand again, opened the door and peered inside.

"Perfect", he whispered before slipping inside and pulling Kurt with him.

They had stepped into a magically beautiful wonderland, covered in glittering snow.

Ice crystals were covering everything in the room, and it was too bright to look directly at the decorations but Kurt couldn't keep away.

"Wow!", he gasped.

His hand slipped out of Blaine's as he slowly made his way around the room, carefully touching the icy transparent decorations.

"This is not ice", he said and turned back to look at Blaine.

"Well, no, then it would melt, right? I guess it's artificial", Blaine said, his hands in his pockets.

He was still standing by the door, just watching Kurt.

"But you- how- how did you do this?", Kurt asked.

"It's called the Room of Requirement. I found it in my first year by accident. I come here when I need to get away from everyone", Blaine explained.

"The room of what?", Kurt asked, frowning.

"Requirement", Blaine said gently. "It gives you what you need. You just think of a place, go through the door and boom, there it is."

"Wow", Kurt sighed. He gazed fondly at Blaine.

Then the happiness faded away and was exchanged with sadness. He sighed heavily, twisting his hands nervously.

"What does this mean?", he asked.

"What does what mean?", Blaine asked.

"All of this. Or do you take everyone to a snowy wonderland at Christmas?", Kurt asked sarcastically.

"No, I don't. I've never showed anyone this room before", Blaine said.

"Exactly. So why did you show it to me? You're sending me all these different signals and it's really confusing", Kurt said.

"I'm not sending you any signals", Blaine said defensively.

Kurt folded his arms across his chest.

"Well, first you kissed me, and then you didn't talk to me for a week, and when we were finally on speaking terms again, we just pretended like the kiss never happened. Then you asked me to help you with Transfiguration again, and everything went back to normal, except that you keep stiffening up every time we're closer than a few yards. So then I thought you were trying to tell me you actually didn't like me, so I backed off. But then you called me gorgeous, and asked me if I wanted to spend Christmas with you, and you held my hand, and then you showed me this, and- do I really need to keep going?", Kurt asked.

"Er, yeah, but- but you said you didn't _want_ to talk about the kiss", Blaine said.

Kurt rolled his eyes.

"Of course I wanted to talk about it, but I thought you were going to storm off again and I couldn't stand having you mad at me for another week. So I lied", he said.

"What else did you lie about?", Blaine asked, upset.

"Don't blame this on me!", Kurt snapped, taking a few steps away from him. "I was just trying to keep you around, and you were obviously going to lash out and tell me to get lost if I wanted to talk about the kiss so yes, I lied to make things easier for you. Maybe you haven't noticed, but I do that a lot."

"Well, I never asked you to do anything for me", Blaine said crossly. He sounded like such a child. He sighed."Maybe I should just go."

He turned around and was just about to leave when Kurt closed his fingers around Blaine's wrist and pulled him back.

"Can we just stop with this stupid act? Why is it so difficult for us to just say straight out what we expect from each other? Because if you just want to study with me, that's fine, but then you can't do things like _this _and expect me to act as if it isn't a big deal_._ And if you want us to be friends or- or _more_, then you can't just bail on me as soon as things get a little tricky!", Kurt said, his voice slightly more high-pitched than usual.

He had a firm grip on Blaine's wrist.

Blaine turned back and looked him right in the eyes. As usual, it made him slightly dizzy.

"I'm sorry", he said softly.

Kurt's eyes softened.

He let go of Blaine's wrist, and intertwined their fingers instead.  
>He kept a loose hold at first, just in case Blaine would pull away.<p>

But he didn't.

"Just stay so we can talk about it, okay?", Kurt said.

Blaine smiled weakly.

"Okay", he said.

Kurt nodded.

"Good. That's a first step", he said.

Blaine hesitated for a few seconds. He looked down at their hands.

"Look, Kurt, I really like you. I do. But honestly, it doesn't even matter how I feel because we can't- we can't act on it. We could have a few amazing days now that there is no one here to judge us, but after that everything will have to go back to normal. We can meet in the library or in the Transfiguration classroom, but not too often because then people will get suspicious. Is that really what you want?", he asked.

Kurt bit his lip.

"I don't know", he said. Then he took a deep breath. "I lied before. When I said that I don't like you that way. I do. A lot."

Blaine smiled. He probably shouldn't, considering that he was about to tell Kurt they couldn't be together no matter how much they liked each other.

But he couldn't help it. And he tried really hard to come up with a reason, any reason, not to be with Kurt, but he couldn't think of one. If they both wanted each other, what possible reason could be good enough to keep them apart? His stupid father, his stupid friends or the stupid society they lived in? Not good enough.

Blaine looked up at Kurt again, who was looking really nervous.

"It just feels unfair to you. You deserve so much better than a secret relationship with a mean Slytherin. I mean, you could just point to anyone and they would fall head over heels for you. Maybe we shouldn't-", he began.

He didn't get further before Kurt had let go of his hand, moved it up to Blaine's neck and wrapped his arms around him. They both leaned in at the same time, not even aware of the movement, and joined their lips together.

Blaine instinctively slid his arms around Kurt's waist to pull him closer.

"I don't want anyone else", Kurt mumbled.

"Me neither", Blaine replied, trying his hardest not to collapse to the floor due to his very weak knees. Kurt just had that effect on him.

Kurt kissed him again. And again. And again.

Blaine caught himself wishing he could glue their lips together because he never wanted it to stop.


	13. Chapter 13

The castle was empty and quiet. It was twelve o'clock on a Saturday night and everybody was fast asleep. Except for one student.

Kurt quietly slipped out through the portrait hole and past the painting of the Fat Lady, who told him off for waking her up.

"I'm sorry!", he whispered before quickly disappearing from the scene.

He knew he would be caught out of bed by one of the patrolling teachers if he stayed in one place for too long. So he stayed clear of the major hallways, kept close to the shadows and listened closely for approaching steps.

He glanced at the watch on his wrist and nervously sped up his pace.

He hated walking around the castle after hours, it wasn't in his nature to break the rules, but he did have a very good reason.

He left the shadows temporarily to cross a hallway, but quickly slipped back into their shelter as he heard hurried steps on the stone floor in the hallway he had just left. He instinctively knew it was professor Pillsbury, because the steps were so quick and nervous. No other teacher walked that way.

He knew that she hated being on night guard, because she was afraid of the dark. He suspected she had some form of mental illness, or whatever you might call it, because she was freakishly dependent on exactly everything around her being completely clean and in order. She had serious control needs, and she couldn't control the dark and that scared her.

Kurt felt a sudden fondness for his Transfiguration teacher. She was so sweet.

As soon as her steps died away, he quietly slipped out of the shadows and hurried along the hallway. He looked around and guessed himself to be somewhere around the seventh floor. Perfect.

He didn't have the strongest sense of direction, though, so he wasn't entirely sure until he reached the hallway he had been searching for. He only recognised it because there was a particular painting hanging there. A quite weird one at that.

Even though he had been there several times a week ever since Christmas, which was nearly two months ago, he still hadn't learnt how to found the room instantly. He always needed at least half an hour just to locate it.

He walked back and forth three times and simultaneously whispered the chant that Blaine had taught him that would give him access to the room that he had created. Or, more accurately, the room that the Room of Requirement had created for him. He watched as the black door appeared in the solid wall.

He glanced around nervously to confirm that no one was lurking around a corner watching him.

It wouldn't be the first time. A few weeks ago, he had just been about to enter the Room of Requirement when professor Sylvester had turned a corner and almost discovered him. He had escaped that time, with small margin.

But this time, no one was to be seen.

He pushed the door open and snuck inside.

He didn't even catch a glance of the room before something had flung itself on him and wrapped it's arms tightly around him.

"Wow, aren't you extra friendly today?", he laughed and hugged back.

Blaine's head popped up from where he had buried it in Kurt's shirt. He smiled sheepishly and let go of him.

"Sorry", he said and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

"Don't apologise. It's nice that you're enthusiastic, you usually just say hi", Kurt said and smiled.

Blaine smiled back. He was just about to hug him again when he realised they hadn't sealed the door properly. He did some enchantments over it as Kurt went over to a four-poster bed similar to the ones in their dormitories.

"What's with the bed?", he asked and sat down on the edge.

Blaine shrugged.

"I was tired when I waited for you", he said and mumbled the last protective spell over the door. "I hope you didn't get too lost on your way here."

Kurt glared at him as angrily as he could but Blaine just snickered.

"I almost ran into professor Pillsbury but otherwise it went smoothly. And the Fat Lady wasn't too happy that I woke her up, though", Kurt said.

"Ah, well, that's a success considering all the trouble you've managed in the past", Blaine teased.

"Like what?", Kurt asked indignantly.

"Oh, nothing", Blaine said innocently.

"I hate you."

"No, you don't."

Kurt opened his mouth to protest but shut it after a few seconds of indecision.

"So, how have you been?", Blaine asked casually.

Kurt raised an eyebrow at the too forced spontaneity in his voice, but didn't question it.

"Well, you know that I melted another cauldron in Potions the other day", he said with a heavy sigh.

Blaine stifled a laugh.

"Right. That was- interesting", he said.

Kurt shot him another venomous glare.

"Need I remind you that_ you_ transfigured Cheshire into a _cockroach_ only last week?", he hissed.

"Calm down, I was just joking", Blaine said softly and sat down next to him on the bed.

Kurt relaxed slightly.

He had the bad habit of taking jokes way too seriously.

"How about you? What have you been up to?", he asked, gently intertwining their fingers, trying to make amends.

"Nothing much. Sebastian and Puck cornered me the other day and asked me where I disappear to when I don't hang out with them but I just told them I study in the library and that they can join me if they want to. Then I started talking about how much fun it would be to study together. That usually makes them stop questioning me about it", Blaine said with a shrug. "Other than that, I've just been to my usual classes. I've done some homework, played some Quidditch. Nothing major. I've missed you, though."

Kurt smiled involuntarily.

"I missed you too", he said.

Ever since that second kiss at Christmas, they had been much more open with their feelings. Blaine had been a little hesitant at first, because he was so used to bottling everything up inside until it exploded. But with Kurt's help, he managed to express his true feelings, too.

They usually met in the Room of Requirement about once a week. They didn't do anything in particular. Sometimes they studied, but most commonly they just talked, listened to music, read or simply enjoyed each others company. They hadn't kissed again since Christmas, but they held hands and otherwise acted sort of like a couple.

But they hadn't decided on what kind of relationship they were in, or if they were just friends, or what they were doing.  
>They were both too inexperienced and shy to ask the other what they thought about the whole thing. But they were quite comfortable being, for the time being, an unspoken couple.<p>

Kurt considered Blaine his boyfriend, but he wasn't sure if he was naïve to do so, or if Blaine felt the same way. Because even though they were more open now than before, they still didn't talk about the state of their relationship too much. Neither dared kiss the other again and they never spent time together outside of the Room of Requirement.

They didn't even say hi to each other if there were other people around, and they had stopped meeting in the library to study.

Blaine _did_ want to be Kurt's boyfriend. But he still had that nagging feeling of not deserving him, so the longer he could put off that conversation, the better. Because once they entered those dangerous waters, he would surely make some stupid comment and scare Kurt off. And he wanted to put off that moment for as long as possible.

"I can't stay long, though. I have to get back in an hour or so", Kurt said.

"Oh, that soon?", Blaine said disappointedly.

"I'm sorry, but I promised Mercedes that I would get up early tomorrow to give her fashion advice. She has this big date tomorrow night with this boy from Hufflepuff, his name is Sam Evans, he's the Captain for their Quidditch team. Anyhow, she didn't tell me about it until dinner today so I haven't been able to pick out an outfit for her yet", Kurt said.

"Ah, so that's why you looked so upset at dinner", Blaine said. "I was afraid it was something serious."

"This _is _serious! I know I'm not really responsible for what she wears but I actually kind of am. I can't let her go on that date looking like a stack of hay. Or, well, she does dress well on her own too, but I can at least perfect her look. Oh, you just don't understand. The point is, I can't stay longer than an hour", Kurt said.

"Of course I know it's important, but I just thought something terrible had happened. You were really panicking", Blaine said.

"Well, I'm really dedicated to fashion", Kurt said.

Blaine smiled fondly.

"I know", he said.

They were quiet for a few seconds. Kurt was trying to print in the sound of Blaine's voice into his mind as they wouldn't be able to meet for another week once they parted.

"Well then, that means we have at least an hour left. What do you want to do?", Blaine asked.

"I don't know", Kurt said and stifled a yawn.

He was really happy to be with Blaine again, but he had had a very long day and he was really tired. He hoped that Blaine didn't think that Kurt was just bored with him.

"Why don't we sleep together, then?", Blaine asked.

Kurt pulled away his hand and stared at him in horror.

"_What?_ I'm not ready for that, we haven't even established a relationship yet, we're way too young, how can you even _suggest_-", he rambled on frantically.

"No, no, no, Kurt, calm down. That's not what I meant! You just looked so tired so I thought you could sleep here. I didn't mean _that_, I meant sleep together as in actually sleeping", Blaine said, taking Kurt's hands in his own again to calm him.

"Oh", was all Kurt could say once he had calmed down. "Sorry."

"It's okay. I should have phrased it better. But what do you think?", Blaine asked.

"About sleeping here? I don't know, then you have to promise to wake me up in an hour so I can get back to the common room", Kurt said hesitantly.

"Or we could stay here all night and go back early in the morning", Blaine suggested.

"What if my friends notices that I'm gone?", Kurt asked.

Blaine shrugged.

"Tell them you're having a secret relationship with some girl", he said.

"How is that any better than admitting to a relationship with you?", Kurt asked, eyebrows raised.

"Because I'm a guy. Or do your friends know that you're gay?", Blaine asked.

"I haven't told them, so I guess they're assuming I'm straight", Kurt said.

"Exactly. If you told them you're secretly dating some hot girl, they will think you're a cool stag. But if you told them you're sneaking off to see_ me_, who you're assumed to hate, they will just think you've gone crazy", Blaine said.

"But it isn't like me to do that. They will be suspicious. They've known me for three years, you know", Kurt said.

"Okay, then tell them you've found a secret treasure chest filled with diamonds and gold and rainbows and-"

"Are you high or something?", Kurt interrupted him impatiently.

"I just think you're making it a bigger deal than it is. If they ask about it, just change the subject. Pretend to faint. Tell them you have a sudden craving for food. Improvise!", Blaine said cheerfully.

Kurt glanced suspiciously at him.

"Are you sure you're not high on something? You're not usually this... happy", he said.

"Isn't that a good thing, that I'm happy?", Blaine asked.

"I guess. But not _this _happy", Kurt said. "This is just a creepy kind of happy."

Blaine let go of his hand and, in the heat of the moment, took Kurt's face in his hands and kissed him. Kurt was too shocked to speak, but his mind was still functional enough to let him wrap his arms around Blaine.

Kurt's face was surprisingly smooth under his fingers, but when he came to think of it it wasn't too surprising considering how careful Kurt was with always moisturising his skin.

Kurt broke the kiss with a content sigh.

"Mm, okay. Let's sleep", he agreed.

Blaine smiled and pulled him closer for another kiss.

Then he moved up to the head of the bed and pulled Kurt with him.  
>He pulled the cover over them both and put his arm around Kurt.<p>

Kurt curled up next to him and buried his face in Blaine's shirt.

"Promise not to leave me here because I won't find my way back again", he mumbled and stifled another yawn.

Blaine laughed softly.

"I promise I'll stay. When do you want me to wake you?", he asked.

But Kurt had already fallen asleep.

Blaine smiled to himself as he settled in beneath the covers, trying to keep his heart beating normally. His left hand unconsciously stroked Kurt's hair, which was impossibly soft, until he too fell asleep.


	14. Chapter 14

The next time Blaine woke up, he didn't remember where he was. He stretched out his legs and yawned. He was tangled in the sheets and but he couldn't really bother to kick them off.

With a lot of effort he managed to open his eyes and try to take in his surroundings.  
>Where was he? He didn't recognise anything around him. Instead of his dormitory's stone walls he was staring at beautiful warm-looking wooden panels. There was no window, but that part he was well used to as his dormitory was in the dungeons.<p>

Suddenly he felt movement on his right side and his entire body went stiff. Was someone next to him? Who the hell was in his bed? A few names raced through his head but they all seemed unlikely. Was it Sebastian, who had found a new "fun" way of waking him up?

But then his mind awoke properly and he remembered why he wasn't in his dormitory, and just who he was sleeping next to.

Then Kurt rolled over and almost pushed Blaine over the edge of the bed.

He clinged to the side of the bed and managed to avoid falling to the floor.

He gently rolled Kurt, who was still asleep, over again and moved after him so he wouldn't be too close to the edge. Kurt was using Blaine's right arm as a pillow so it was quite impossible for him to move any further without waking Kurt up. He looked so peaceful. He seemed even more angelic when he was asleep.

But why would Blaine even want to move? He had Kurt merely inches away, the bed was really warm and comfortable and he didn't have any plans for the day. He did have some studying to do, but that could wait.

He caught a glance at his digital watch that displayed the time. It was just five in the morning. He should get back to sleep.  
>With a pang of disappointment he realised that Kurt <em>did <em>have plans, and that he should probably wake him up, otherwise he would be really mad. He really didn't want to.

Blaine had never felt more at peace than now. Kurt's presence usually had that effect on him, but particularly now when they weren't fighting or going through a big drama. They just calmly existed next to each other, safely hidden from the prying eyes of the judgemental world. It was just the two of them.

Kurt's otherwise impeccable hair was slightly messy and he just looked so vulnerable.

Kurt usually had a protective wall built up around him, but in this state he was completely defenceless. Not that Blaine would ever use that as an advantage, it was just an amazing experience to see him so free of care. He had the feeling that Kurt didn't let too many people come this close and he felt extremely lucky.

With great reluctance he leaned over and gently woke him up.

Kurt stirred and slowly opened his eyes partially. He looked awfully tired and Blaine instantly regretted waking him.

He yawned, admiringly gracefully given how tired he must be, and stretched out his body just like a cat. Then he turned his back on Blaine and curled into a little ball to get back to sleep.

Another great gathering of strength made Blaine pull Kurt back so they were face to face.

"I'm sorry, you have to wake up", he mumbled.

Kurt groaned quietly and kept his eyes firmly shut.

"Leave me alone", he moaned as Blaine kept prodding him gently as to get his attention.

"Kurt-", Blaine began.

He really didn't want to force him awake, but if he didn't he would probably get scolded about it later. Kurt had made him promise, after all.

"You said you needed to get up early", Blaine reminded him, hoping it would stir something in him.

"I need to sleep. Nothing matters more than sleep", Kurt said grumpily.

"But what about Mercedes? And her date? You can't let her go unprepared, can you?", Blaine coaxed.

That certainly did the trick.

Kurt's eyes opened and he sat up so quickly he got dizzy and had to grab hold of Blaine for support.

Blaine carefully pulled him back down on his back.

Kurt struggled against him for a while, feverishly rambling on about how important it was for him to get back to his dormitory and prepare.

"It's only 5am, do you have to go at once?", Blaine asked and let go of him as he was too hysterical to calm down any time soon.

Kurt stopped while halfway out of the bed. Then he sat down again and rubbed his eyes.

"I can stay to 6am", he said, and yawned.

Blaine nodded.

Kurt glanced at him for a few seconds, as though wondering how to act or what to say.

To save him from further hesitation, Blaine opened his arms as an invite.

Kurt immediately settled down in his arms and buried his face in Blaine's shirt.

It didn't take long until he had fallen asleep again. Once again Blaine had to wake him, but Kurt wasn't as reluctant to wake up this time.

"Sorry", he mumbled and sat up to stretch out his arms again. He had been too still for too long. "Maybe I should just go before I fall asleep again."

"Can't you stay a little longer?", Blaine asked. He hated feeling so needy and clingy but he couldn't stand the thought of Kurt leaving him yet.

Kurt smiled and leaned in to kiss him.

"I really should go", he said. He was sitting with his legs folded underneath him.

"Just twenty minutes", Blaine coaxed, and rubbed his thumb slowly against Kurt's cheek.

Kurt smiled, as though tempted by his offer.

"Alright. Twenty minutes", he agreed.

Blaine smiled and pulled him into a head-spinning kiss that left them both feeling slightly dizzy.

Then they settled down comfortably again, Blaine with his arm around Kurt's shoulder and Kurt with his head securely propped up against Blaine's chest. He could feel Blaine's heart beating steadily beneath him and it almost made him fall asleep again.

He forced himself to remain awake and tried to focus his thoughts to make sure he didn't fall asleep again.

Blaine had his eyes closed and was trying his hardest to relax and not dwell on the fact that Kurt had to leave soon. There was nothing he hated more than parting from him. It always felt like he was leaving a little piece of him with Kurt. He never really felt at home without him.

They remained that way for about twenty minutes, and even though Kurt really didn't want to leave, he still untangled himself from Blaine's arms and got to his feet. Blaine straightened up and crossed his legs loosely. He stayed put and watched Kurt fix his hair in a mirror on the wall. He felt irrationally sad.

Kurt took his time, and spent at least ten minutes fixing his hair and straightening out his clothes as much as possible.

"I look horrible", he concluded, giving his reflection in the mirror a critical glare.

"You look great", Blaine argued.

Kurt rolled his eyes.

"You're just saying that because you're my boyf-"

He didn't get any further as he got interrupted by the deep blush that spread all across his face.

Blaine sat up yet a little straighter, eagerly waiting for him to continue. Had he heard what he thought he had heard?

"Er, well, I have to go. I'll see you later", Kurt said quickly, grabbed his bag and hurried out of the room without even kissing Blaine goodbye.

Blaine dropped down against the pillows as the door closed behind Kurt.

He pulled the covers over his head, a number of furious curses escaping his lips.

* * *

><p>Blaine couldn't stop thinking about that Sunday morning. He played the scene over and over again in his head, twisting and turning every single word Kurt had uttered.<p>

He had the feeling that Kurt was avoiding him slightly, because he hadn't tried to contact him to set the date of their next meeting yet. And it had been more than five days now.

Blaine had recently decided to go looking for Kurt himself, when suddenly one day when he was heading for his next class, someone grabbed his arm and pulled him from the main hallway into a hidden one. His friends were ahead of him and no one even noticed his disappearance.

He was just trying to decide on which spell to use on the one with the firm hold of his arm when a hand covered his mouth to prevent him from arguing.

He could identify that smell anywhere.

He pulled the hand off his mouth and turned to his attacker.

"Was that really necessary?", he asked, his eyebrows slightly raised as he looked straight into Kurt's blue eyes.

"Sorry, just didn't want you to scream", Kurt said with a small grin.

"I'm not that easily frightened", Blaine said indignantly.

"Of course not", Kurt said soothingly, though he didn't seem convinced.

Blaine glared at him but soon got distracted as Kurt changed the subject.

"So...", he began, fidgeting slightly. "We haven't really talked in a while. Do you have time?"

"I have class now, but maybe tonight?", Blaine suggested.

"I have Quidditch practise at six", Kurt said hesitantly.

"What about eight o'clock then?", Blaine asked.

Kurt counted the hours in his head to make sure he had time to both practise, change out of his Quidditch robes and get to the Room of Requirement.

"Alright, eight o'clock is fine", he finished.

"That's settled then", Blaine said.

He wasn't sure whether he should bring up the whole thing where Kurt had almost referred to him as his boyfriend. He decided not to. After all, he wasn't even sure if he wanted to be Kurt's boyfriend.

Of course he _wanted_ to. In a perfect world he wouldn't hesitate a second. He would take Kurt out on a proper date and he wouldn't be afraid to kiss him in public. They would graduate and move to a big city, because Kurt always said how much he liked big cities, and live there for a couple of years.

Then they would move out onto the country side and settle down in some nice little house and get married and adopt lots and lots of children and live happily ever after.

Blaine felt a jolt through his stomach as he realised just how much he wanted all that, and also how he could never have it.

In a perfect world, yes, that was all really plausible. But in the harsh world in which they were living, it was just foolish to even bother dreaming about it.

How could he possibly introduce Kurt to his parents?

"Hi dad, mum. This is Kurt, my homosexual boyfriend who also happens to be Muggle born."

They could never have a proper future as long as Blaine wasn't prepared to throw his entire family away. The mere thought of one day leaving Kurt made him feel so thoroughly miserable he didn't know what to do with himself.

It must have shown on his face, because Kurt suddenly seemed worried.

"Are you okay?", he asked.

"Yeah", Blaine said hoarsely. "Eight o'clock then?"

"Great", Kurt said without any enthusiasm. He still seemed concerned, so Blaine forced a smile to calm him.

"See you then", he said lightly.

Then he left, putting as much distance as quickly as possible between them without running.

It felt like his head was about to explode and he was getting a terrible headache.

He hated himself for being so weak for Kurt. He hated that he just had to be gay. He hated being with Kurt because it reminded him of how they couldn't be together once they graduated in a few years. He hated not being able to hold Kurt's hand in public, and he hated having to hide.

He hated how much he loved Kurt.

Because he really did love him. He was so terribly, hopelessly in love with him that he was almost considering betraying his entire family and it's values just to be with him.

But above everything else he hated society and his father for raising him with terrible prejudices and forcing him to hate himself for who he loved. He hadn't _chosen _Kurt. He hadn't _chosen _being gay. It was just the way it was.

It had always been there under the surface, but he hadn't found a name for it until he met Kurt. He really didn't want to be in love with Kurt. He would have much rather fallen for a girl, any girl at all. But fate had brought him to Kurt and now it was too late to go back. Or was it?

* * *

><p>At exactly eight o'clock Blaine was in the Room of Requirement. Or, actually, he had been there for about an hour already. He didn't want to be late.<p>

To pass the time he listened to The Cure, his favourite band for the past months. He hadn't told anyone except for Kurt because they were Muggles.

As he listened to the intro to Lovesong, Kurt entered the room. He admired the new setting Blaine had created before kicking off his shoes, dropping his bag on the floor and leaping onto the bed on which Blaine was sitting, his legs folded underneath him.

Kurt laid down next to him on his back and stretched out over the bed.

"What is this song?", he asked curiously and looked up at Blaine. "I recognize it."

"Lovesong by The Cure", Blaine answered and slowly ran his fingers through Kurt's hair.

"Oh, of course. You play it all the time", Kurt said, not making a single complaint of the touching of his hair. He would have gotten up kicking and screaming if it had been anyone but Blaine.

"It's my favourite song", Blaine said with a shrug.

He had spent the entire day wondering what he was going to do with Kurt. They couldn't be together forever, they both knew it, but why not enjoy it while it lasted?  
>Besides, they might very possibly not be interested in each other in a couple of years.<p>

So he decided to put it out of his mind and just focus on the present.

_Whenever I'm alone with you, you make me feel like I am home again_

Kurt edged a little closer to him and put his head right next to Blaine's knees. Blaine switched position and folded his legs so Kurt could rest his head in his lap.

_Whenever I'm alone with you, you make me feel like I am whole again_

Kurt were talking were quickly about how horrible that night's Quidditch practise had been. It had been raining persistently and he had been really out of shape and hadn't caught most of the golf balls that they were using as a substitute for the Snitch due to the bad weather.

_However far away, I will always love you  
><em>_However long I stay, I will always love you_

Blaine could still feel cold raindrops in Kurt's hair. He slid his fingers down Kurt's jawline, up to his adorable slightly elf-like ear and back into his hair.

It made Kurt fall silent, and for a while they stayed that way, just listening to the music.

"Why is this your favourite song?", Kurt asked suddenly.

Blaine thought it over for a few seconds.

"I don't know. It's just a really beautiful love song", he said.

"Why?", Kurt asked.

"I- well, it expresses love in a very beautiful way and it's easy to relate to it", Blaine said.

Kurt was silent for a few moments.

"Do you- do you feel that way about me?", he asked.

Blaine glanced down at him, wondering what to say. Then he saw how tense Kurt had gotten.

"Yeah, I do", he said finally.

Kurt remained silent, which really freaked Blaine out.  
>Oh god, he didn't feel the same. Kurt didn't love him back.<p>

He wanted to crawl into a hole and die.

Kurt sat up straight and turned to him.

"Will you be my boyfriend then?", he asked.

"Your boyfriend?", Blaine echoed nervously. He reminded himself that they still had four years left. He nodded. "Yeah."

Kurt smiled slightly. Blaine leaned in to kiss him, but Kurt stopped him mid-air.

"Even in front of people?", he asked, very quietly.

Blaine got slightly paler.

"Kurt-", he began uncertainly.

"I know you're ashamed of me and I know your parents are really prejudice and all, but we can't keep this a secret. I don't want to be ashamed any more. I've wasted enough time on that already", Kurt said.

"I'm not ashamed of you, you know that. I just can't afford to lose my entire life over such a silly thing as being able to hold your hand in public", Blaine said.

"But it's not just a silly little thing for me", Kurt said, slightly offended. "What's the point of having a relationship if you can't admit to it's existence other than a few nights a week?"

"Why is this suddenly an issue now? When we hadn't put a label on us_,_ it was just fine", Blaine said.

"It is fine, but I don't want 'fine' for the rest of my life. I want magic!", Kurt said.

"How can you ask this of me? I can't choose between you and my family", Blaine argued.

"If they really love you they won't care who you choose to be with", Kurt countered.

"It's not that simple", Blaine snapped.

Kurt got to his feet and picked up all his things from the floor.

"Where are you going?", Blaine asked, a little too desperately, and got up too.

"I've put up with this until now but sooner or later you have to man up and allow yourself to be who you really are, instead of the shell you pretend to be. We both deserve better than a relationship that lasts for a few hours a week", Kurt said.

He looked broken and it made Blaine hurt as if someone had stabbed his heart with a knife.

"Find me when you've made up your mind", Kurt finished.

"So you're making me choose? You or my family?", Blaine asked, quite fiercely.

Kurt took a deep breath, as though strengthening himself for what he was about to say.

"Yes."

Then he turned and left Blaine standing alone in the middle of the room, staring at the spot where Kurt had just been standing.

* * *

><p>Blaine spent the next few days thinking over- well, everything.<p>

He tried to measure or put into words just how much he loved Kurt, how painful it would be to leave him and what he was willing to sacrifice to be with him. He also did the same with his family.

Which loss would be worst?  
>His instincts told him it was his family he needed to priority but as he thought it through properly, every other part of him voted for Kurt.<p>

Kurt respected him for who he was. Who he _really_ was.

If his family would disown him solely based on who he happened to love, did he really need them?

He couldn't pretend to be straight all his life. Some day he had to come out clean. He might as well do it now.

So he chose Kurt.


	15. Chapter 15

I think there will be just a few more chapters now, probably around two or something. Wouldn't want to bore you all!  
>Thank you for all the reviews and storyauthor alerts, you are all so nice!  
>I've been thinking about doing a sequel to this story once it's finished, but I'm not sure yet. Would anyone read it?<br>I guess I'll write it if I feel like it, otherwise I will just leave it as it is.

Anyway, about this chapter: I think we've had a little too much fluffy Klaine for a while (yeah, alright, you can't really get too much happy Klaine, but still) so this chapter will be a little more dramatic but I'll save the real drama for the next two chapters. Ahh, now I'm rambling again. Sorry. x

* * *

><p>It took Blaine a few days to gather the courage to go through with his plan.<p>

He soon had it all figured out. He knew what to do, where and when to do it.

All he needed was to actually _do_ it. And it wasn't the easiest thing to do.

But he had made up his mind.

* * *

><p><em>[Kurt's POV]<em>

Blaine hadn't looked him up yet. He hadn't even glanced in Kurt's direction ever since Kurt set that ultimatum. Why had he done it? Wasn't it much better to have Blaine in secret than to not have him at all? It wasn't like he was going to get over him any time soon anyway. Now he would just be miserable for eternity, just because he had been too stupid and demanded too much of Blaine.

Of course he wouldn't give up his family for him. Would Kurt have done that, if the roles had been reversed? Probably not.

He wished he could just take the whole thing back. Just reverse time to when they were okay.

* * *

><p>One day during lunch, Kurt was sitting in the Great Hall.<p>

He was squeezed in between Mercedes and Tina. Tina was busy discussing something, Kurt didn't know what, with Mike and Mercedes was going on and on about something that Kurt just couldn't pay enough attention to understand. He couldn't stop thinking about Blaine.

He supposed he would have to forget about Blaine now. He had obviously made his choice and Kurt should respect that. He shouldn't go begging for forgiveness, even if that certainly was what he wanted to do. It took every little ounce of self-control he had not to run off and look for Blaine and tell him how sorry he was, and that he would do anything to be with him. Even if they could only be together twice a week.

But he didn't. He stayed put, trying to focus on what Mercedes was saying without much success.

He was just about to ask her, for the hundredth time that day, what she had just said, when out of the corner of his eye he saw Blaine coming through the door.

He was stunned by how incredible Blaine looked. It always amazed him, but particularly today because he missed him so much.

On a normal day he would pretend not to acknowledge Blaine's existence, but he figured it couldn't hurt to watch him for just a few seconds. It couldn't hurt now that they were over.

He watched as Blaine entered the Great Hall. He stopped in the entrance, though, and looked around the room as though searching for something. Or someone.

Kurt was mildly surprised, because Blaine usually went straight to the Slytherin table. It wasn't that common with interactions between Houses, and it was especially rare for Slytherins to interact with the non-Slytherin students. But Blaine wasn't paying any attention to his friends who were trying to wave him over. Instead his gaze fell on Kurt, who suddenly felt paralysed. He couldn't look away.

The only thought running through his head was that this wasn't good for their image.

They never got caught looking at each other in public, because they didn't want anyone to suspect something.

Considering the choice Blaine had obviously made, Kurt expected him to look away and join his friends by the Slytherin table. But instead he went straight towards the Gryffindor table. Towards Kurt.

He quickly turned to Mercedes and desperately tried to start up a conversation. He hoped that it would make Blaine understand that he didn't want to talk. At least not in public like this.

She was confused at his desperation.

"Are you okay, Kurt?", she asked and raised her eyebrows.

"I'm fine. What were you saying about Sam?", Kurt asked urgently.

Mercedes rolled her eyes.

"Have you been listening at all?", she asked impatiently.

"I'm sorry, I was preoccupied. But tell me, I promise to listen", Kurt said, making sure not to even glance in Blaine's direction.

But it was no use.

"Hi, Kurt."

Mercedes' eyes narrowed and she turned around and saw who had spoken.

She put her hand protectively on top of Kurt's.

"What are _you_ doing here?", she snapped.

Kurt knew that she really didn't like Blaine. She hadn't seen his sweet side.

"Hi, Blaine", he mumbled and reluctantly turned to face him.

Blaine was smiling in a weird way.  
>Despite the unnatural smile, seeing him still sent a jolt of happiness through Kurt.<p>

He wished they were back in the Room of Requirement so he could hug him.

Blaine's eyes didn't leave his. He didn't even glance around to see how everyone was staring at them. Particularly their friends.

Mercedes was trying to drag Kurt from the table, but he wouldn't move.  
>He was too busy looking up at Blaine, who was just inches away.<p>

He couldn't figure out what Blaine was trying to accomplish. Wasn't this the exact thing he had been dreading? The one thing they had been avoiding all these months?

Then he caught Kurt off guard by pulling him to his feet.

"What are you doing?", Kurt hissed and swung his leg over the bench so he could stand up straight.

Blaine smiled.

"Trust me", he said quietly.

Kurt eyed him suspiciously.

Then everything went in slow motion. He could see Blaine leaning in, as though he was about to kiss him. Kurt couldn't believe his eyes.

Was he asleep? Was this just a dream?

In what universe would Blaine be kissing him in the Great Hall, with the whole school as witness?

But then their lips met, and Kurt was so overwhelmed with relief of finally kissing Blaine again that he wrapped his arms firmly around his neck without a second thought. The only thing he could focus on was the wonderfully familiar taste of Blaine's lips and the feeling of having him so close that there was absolutely no room between them.

Exactly as when he was diving into that final race for the Snitch during Quidditch games, he automatically tuned out the sound of the crowd.

There were loud gasps and horrified noises coming from the other students, but he couldn't hear them. He just closed his eyes and melted into the kiss which was surprisingly tender considering their surroundings. When they finally broke apart, the world got turned off mute again.

"Is that public enough for you?", Blaine mumbled and affectionately rubbed his thumb against Kurt's cheek.

He was speechless. He was _literally speechless. _He couldn't form a word for the life of him.

But, he figured, he didn't really need to.

Instead he pulled Blaine closer again and kissed him with more passion than ever.

"I'll leave you to your lunch now", Blaine mumbled against his lips.

Kurt smiled.

"Okay", he managed to get out.

Blaine offered Mercedes a polite smile, which she did not return, and then he walked out of the Great Hall, leaving the entire student body stunned by what they had just witnessed.

Kurt sat down, his knees too weak to carry his weight any longer.

"What the _hell_ was that about?", Mercedes hissed.

Kurt smiled weakly at her. He didn't trust himself to speak yet.

"I think it's sweet", Tina chipped in.

"_Sweet_? He's a freaking Slytherin. Now, Kurt, I know you're lonely sometimes but can't you do better than _him_?", Mercedes asked.

"He's amazing", Kurt said simply.

Mercedes rolled his eyes.

"Well, I sure as hell won't start making friends with those people any time soon", she said, quite fiercely. Then she added, in a much kinder voice, "But I promise I'll be nice to him at least."

Kurt smiled fondly at her.

"Thank you, Cedes", he said and squeezed her hand.

She looked around the hall and found that everyone was still staring at him.

"Although, I'm not so sure everyone else is as nice as I am", she mumbled.

He turned around too, and of course realised she was right.

They all looked at him as if he was a rabid dog who needed to be put down.

He swallowed with some difficulty.  
>Maybe Blaine had been right after all. Maybe they weren't ready to be out and proud just yet.<p>

Maybe he would soon come to regret ever making that wish in the first place.

* * *

><p><em>[Blaine's POV]<em>

Everything had worked out alright.

He had kissed Kurt, right in front of the entire school. He knew the majority of the students thought they were disgusting and a disgrace, and some had told him just that, but he didn't really care.

Kurt seemed happy that he had finally showed everyone his true self, and nothing else mattered.

He left the Great Hall with the feeling of being able to accomplish anything.

The castle was quite empty, so he didn't meet anyone on his way to the Slytherin common room.

He felt really happy for once. No one had tried to kill him, as he had feared. It had just been a success.

Over the next few days, he had expected to get a lot of hate from a lot of people.

He had expected at least Puck, Trent and Sebastian to corner him on what the hell he was doing.

He had a whole speech figured out. Unfortunately he didn't get to use it, because no one asked him anything. At first it really confused him. Had he dreamed the whole thing?  
>But a few people did give him funny looks now and then, so he decided it had been real.<p>

Maybe people just didn't care. Maybe they thought it was sort of foul, but they didn't care enough to taunt them for it. Once he had come to that realisation, he wished he had been that brave much sooner.

Just think of all the time he spent away from Kurt when they could have been out in public, just like every straight couple at Hogwarts.

He could handle a few snide remarks and glares. He had been afraid someone would try and beat the gay out of him, but the worst he had seen was someone calling him 'fag', and that he could take.

It felt like a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

He had nothing left to hide and it was amazing.

He didn't see Kurt for a few days, but he figured that wasn't so strange because he was probably studying for the exams that was coming up in a few months.

He didn't worry about anything or anyone. Everything was just perfect.  
>But he did wish he could see Kurt soon. What was the point of an official relationship if they never had time to see each other?<p>

But he put it out of his mind. They had several years ahead of them, and Kurt was probably really busy, so he shouldn't go looking for him. But it did seem kind of strange that he hadn't even spotted Kurt in the crowds.

* * *

><p>A few days later, Blaine was eating his dinner in the Great Hall in peace. Trent, who had been sort of nervous around him since he had kissed Kurt, was eating in silence and Sebastian was busy talking to Karofsky about their most recent Quidditch tactic.<p>

Blaine was half-through the food on his plate when he heard a very familiar hoot from somewhere above. He looked up and, as expected, he saw his snow white owl soaring towards him.

It landed neatly on his shoulder and put it's leg forward. There was a small note tied to it.

Blaine untied it and slipped his owl a small piece of owl candy as thank you. It gave an affectionate hoot and then took off again.

Blaine unrolled the small piece of parchment and, making sure none of his friends could see, read through it. His heart started racing.

_"Blaine,_

_meet me in the Room of Requirement. Now._

_Something has happened and I don't know what to do._

_ I really need to talk you, so please come as soon as you can._

__- Kurt"__


	16. Chapter 16

Blaine quickly swung his leg over the bench and got up.

It seemed to be urgent so he didn't waste any time with explaining to his friends.

"I'll see you", he said hurriedly before he half-ran, half-walked out of the Great Hall.

Once out of sight from everyone, he broke into a run. He didn't stop until he got to the seventh floor and the proper hallway. He quickly walked past the empty wall three times, despite the urge to just sit down and even out his heavy breathing.

The door emerged and he slipped inside.

The room he entered was quite similar to the ones he himself had organised during their previous meetings. Kurt must have remembered the details quite well, he thought fleetingly.

But then he lost all thoughts of the room's details as he, despite the poor lighting due to the lack of windows, spotted Kurt.

He was sitting on a four-poster bed. His clothes were muddy and slightly torn.

He didn't say anything, he just got up and threw his arms around Blaine.

Blaine snaked his arms around Kurt's waist as he began sobbing into Blaine's shoulder.

"Shh, it's okay. Everything is going to be okay", he mumbled repeatedly.

He had always been really terrible at comforting people. He never knew what to say.

But he didn't really have any room to say anything anyway, because Kurt was too upset to listen.

So he just comforted him in the only way he knew how. At first he tried to keep the tears from staining Kurt's shirt because he knew it would upset him further once he had stopped crying, but he was so upset that Blaine couldn't control it for long. They were so torn anyway that it hardly mattered.

After about ten minutes of intense crying, and soothing words from Blaine, Kurt seemed to calm down. He wiped the tears from his eyes, but it still left his eyes red and rather puffy.

"What happened?", Blaine asked carefully.

He helped Kurt to sit down on the bedside because his knees seemed too weak to carry him much longer.

"I- I'm sorry, it was stupid of me to ask you to come. It's nothing, really, I-", Kurt mumbled.

His voice was hoarse from all the crying.

"Don't be silly. Your clothes are all messed up, and I know you well enough to be sure you didn't do this to yourself. So, please, just tell me or I will just think the worst", Blaine pleaded.

Kurt needed a few more minutes to even out his breathing before he could talk properly.

Blaine pulled him up onto his lap and kept his one arm firmly around Kurt's waist so he wouldn't fall off.

He seemed a little embarrassed at being treated like an eight-year-old, but he seemed to decide it wasn't worth the effort of arguing. Instead he settled down more comfortably and rested his head against Blaine's shoulder while he spoke.

"I was up in my dormitory to decide what clothes I was going to wear to dinner, and my friends left before me because I was taking so long. You know how I get when there's clothes involved", Kurt said and Blaine could almost feel him rolling his eyes.

"And because they had already left, I had to go to the Great Hall alone. I was really nervous and I _tried_ to keep away from them but they just seemed to find me anyway. They have a way of doing that. Especially now that-", Kurt began.

"Who?", Blaine asked, his eyebrows slightly raised.

"Who what?", Kurt asked absent-mindedly.

"Who were you hiding from?", Blaine clarified.

Kurt hesitated.

"Oh. No one in particular", he mumbled.

He was rubbing his fingers against his knuckles very slowly, as he always did when he was nervous.

"Kurt-", Blaine began.

"I- look, this is stupid, nothing happened. I should just go", Kurt said and tried to get up.

"Kurt! We both know I'm not letting you go anywhere without telling me what happened", Blaine said very firmly.

He gently pushed Kurt from his lap onto the bed and got to his feet.

"I'll be back really soon, okay? Promise you won't go anywhere", he said.

"I promise", Kurt said sulkily.

Blaine leaned down to kiss him and then hurried out through the door.

As promised, he wasn't gone for long. After just about ten minutes he was back, and what he brought with him made Kurt jump off the bed with excitement. He had almost forgotten the whole incident that a few minutes earlier had made him cry his lungs out.

"You brought _cake_?", he cried out and went to meet him at the door.

"Not just any cake. Chocolate cake", Blaine said and opened the box he had in his hands.

"Where did you get it?", Kurt asked.

"From the kitchen. The house elves are really helpful and generous, especially when it comes to food", Blaine said.

"But why did you go to the kitchen now?", Kurt asked and took the box from his hands.

They settled down on the bed again, facing each other both with their legs folded.

"Because chocolate comforts you when you're sad", Blaine said and, out of thin air, Conjured two spoons. He offered the nicest one to Kurt.

"How did you know that chocolate calms me?", Kurt asked and took a bite of the cake. "Oh, it's delicious!"

"Well, you told me the first time we met", Blaine said with a gentle shrug.

"And you remembered?", Kurt asked disbelievingly.

"Yeah", Blaine said.

It was kind of pathetic just how hung up on Kurt he had been ever since they first met. He memorized every word he had ever spoken and every little fact he had ever revealed about himself. Or at least most of them. For example, he knew that Kurt's grandfather died two days after Kurt had turned eight. He knew that Kurt hated blueberries, but he was rather fond of strawberries.

And he knew that when Kurt was sad, the only thing that could console him was music and chocolate.

Kurt smiled.

"That's really sweet", he said.

Blaine shrugged.

"Now, tell me about what happened", he said.

Kurt moaned.

"Do you have to remind me? I had just forgotten about it", he complained.

"Kurt. Please."

He used his silkiest voice, and it had not yet failed him. Kurt couldn't resist that voice.

Kurt sighed in defeat.

"Alright. Where was I?", he asked and dug his spoon into the cake a little too violently.

"You were just telling me who you were hiding from", Blaine reminded him.

"Oh. Right", Kurt said. He glanced nervously at Blaine.

"Promise me you won't be mad. I know you have a really bad temper sometimes and I don't want you to go run off and- and- and beat someone up or something", he said.

Blaine's eyes narrowed.

"Is there a need for me to beat someone up?", he asked darkly.

Kurt looked horrified.

"_No!_ It honestly isn't as bad as it sounds. I was just upset for a while but now I'm fine, so please can we move on?", he asked.

"No. Okay, I promise not to run off and beat anyone up", Blaine said.

Kurt took a bite of the cake and nodded approvingly.

"Alright then. Well, I was down in the fifth corridor on my way to the Great Hall and then your friends came out of nowhere. They used the Silencing Charm on me so I couldn't scream, though I can't understand how they knew it because that's a fifth-year level Charm, and then they took me outside and-", Kurt looked quite scared as he continued, "-then they pinned me to the wall with another Charm but I don't know which one it was because I was too scared to hear what they said. And, um, they asked me about you and what I had done to you and then they got really impatient because I wouldn't admit to hexing you, so they- they beat me up a little. I think they just wanted to scare me off, but when I still wouldn't cave they used the Hover Charm to pull me up into the air and then they just laughed because I was so terrified. Then Sebastian thought it would be fun to just drop me so they did and I fell in some rosebushes and my clothes got torn and then they just left me there. And then I wrote you that note and went straight here and- oh, Blaine, no, don't be mad-"

Blaine was indeed mad. He was shaking with anger and it took every little ounce of self-control he had not to go to the Great Hall and do some really terrible things to his so-called friends.

"Blaine, listen, it really isn't that bad! I'm fine, look! They just scared me, that's all", Kurt said, desperately trying anything to get Blaine to calm down.

Blaine closed his eyes and took a few deep, calming breaths. The spoon, half-filled with cake, lay abandoned on the edge of the cake.

He was still just as tense when he opened his eyes again, but the urge to punch a hole through a wall had decreased slightly. Instead he felt very sad, and _very_ guilty.

"I'm so, so sorry", he whispered.

"What? No, no, it's not _your_ fault", Kurt said.

"Of course it is. I didn't think anyone cared about that kiss because no one had bothered _me_ about it. If I hadn't been so stupid I would have realised they would go after you", Blaine said miserably.

"You couldn't have known that. Besides, this is for the best. Now it's all out in the open", Kurt said.

Blaine hesitated for a while.

"Maybe- maybe we should just undo the whole thing. Make some excuse and pretend it was all a joke", he said.

"_What?_ No! We have just come out, we can't tip-toe back into the closet just because a couple of your friends were mean to me for a while. I'm sure they'll calm down", Kurt said.

"But they won't. They will keep tormenting you until you crack and- I love you so much, Kurt, and I can't stand being the cause of your misery", Blaine said.

"We just have to stand for what we did and take the consequences. We can't let people scare us into believing that what we feel is wrong, because it isn't!", Kurt said.

He was really upset.

"No, _you_ have to take the consequences for what _I _did", Blaine said darkly.

"Have you forgotten it was my idea to begin with? I forced you into it. So it's only fair I get to pay for it", Kurt argued.

"I can't let you get beaten up just because of me!", Blaine exclaimed.

"Well, here are some news for you Blaine, I am an independent person who can think for myself. I'm not some defenceless princess and you are not the strong, brave prince that has to rescue me from some foul dragon", Kurt said sharply.

Blaine smiled at this comparison, even though they were having an argument.

"Of course not. You are your own strong, brave prince who slays his own dragons. But that isn't the point", he said.

"So what's the point?", Kurt asked.

"I am your boyfriend and it's my responsibility to keep you safe from harm. If the roles had been reversed, you would have done the same for me. It's not a matter of a brave prince and a defenceless princess. It's a matter of two people in love and one of them suffering, which makes the other one do whatever it takes to make the first one happy again", Blaine said.

Kurt rolled his eyes.

"It's not that big of a deal, really!", he said.

But Blaine had just noticed something that he hadn't seen before because the lighting in the room was so bad.

Kurt had bruises and small cuts on his arms and neck. They were probably from the rosebush he had fallen into.

With a very gentle touch, he pointed out the bruises to Kurt.

"That's not nothing", he said quietly.

Kurt looked down, too.

"It's worth it", he mumbled.

"Not to me, it isn't. Just let me take care of it, okay?", Blaine said.

"And how do you expect everyone to believe it was just a joke?", Kurt asked.

"I'll think of something", Blaine promised. When Kurt still looked disbelieving, he added, "Don't you trust me?"

"It's not a matter of trust. It's a matter of how stupid people are and I don't think they're stupid enough to believe we were just joking around", Kurt said.

"Well, they may be smart but I am much smarter", Blaine said and smiled widely.

Kurt rolled his eyes.

"Have you ever considered that you think too highly of yourself sometimes?", he asked sarcastically.

"It's usually the opposite", Blaine said lightly, which made Kurt look sad again. "But in this case I'm very sure of what I'm doing. Don't worry."

He put the cake and the spoons on the small table next to the bed so they wouldn't crush it.

Then, in an effort to cheer Kurt up, he gently wrapped his arm around him and deliberately fell backwards on the bed with Kurt struggling in his arms.  
>It turned into a wrestle which lasted for about fifteen minutes before Blaine had to admit defeat. Kurt had pushed him off the bed, and when Blaine had faked an injury he had dived after him to make sure he was okay, and Blaine had continued on the wrestle as though nothing had happened.<p>

This made Kurt so mad he tackled Blaine, not too harshly though, and pinned him to the floor, demanding he gave up. And then they had spent another couple of minutes kissing on the floor until they both were out of breath. Soon they were just lying on the floor entangled in each other.

"I need to get some sleep", Kurt mumbled and planted a gentle kiss on Blaine's collarbone.

"You're not leaving, though, are you?", Blaine asked.

"Why would I?", Kurt asked with a smile.

He sat up straight and pulled Blaine up with him. Then he, due to his very lazy state, simply crawled up onto the bed and under the covers. Blaine, on the other hand, wasn't tired at all so he skipped to the bed and under the covers. Kurt shot him a vicious glare but couldn't bother being annoyed too long. All the crying and wrestling and kissing had made him dead tired.

As usual, Blaine put his arms tightly around Kurt and rested his chin against Kurt's head.

"Aren't you tired _at all_?", Kurt asked miserably as Blaine was humming contentedly to himself.

"No. I slept almost too much tonight", he said.

Kurt moaned.

"So you'll be up all night and just watch me sleep. How calming", he said sarcastically.

Blaine laughed.

"I never watch you when you sleep", he said.

"Yes you do. I can _feel_ it", Kurt argued.

"Do you want me to sing you to sleep?", Blaine asked in an attempt to change the subject.

"Smooth", Kurt muttered sarcastically. Then he added, "Yes, please."

"What would you like to hear?", Blaine asked.

Kurt thought for a few seconds.

"I don't know", he said.

"I'll sing our song, then", Blaine decided.

"Our song?", Kurt echoed.

"The one that goes 'Whenever I'm alone with you, you make me feel like I am home again', you know?", Blaine said. He was partially singing, partially talking. "I guess it's not _our _song officially but when you first asked me to be your boyfriend we were listening to it, and I always think of you when I hear it."

"Oh", Kurt said softly.

Then he reached up to give Blaine a long, thorough kiss before he settled down in his arms again.

Blaine pulled him a little closer, and then started singing very softly. He slowed it down a lot so it was more like a lullaby than the actual song.

_Whenever I'm alone with you, you make me feel like I am young again_

_Whenever I'm alone with you, you make me feel like I am fun again_

_However far away, I will always love you_

_However long I stay, I will always love you_

_Whatever words I say, I will always love you_

_I will always love you_

"Mm, that is definitely our song", Kurt mumbled.

Blaine was a little taken aback because he thought Kurt had fallen asleep.

"I love you", he said after a while, quietly wondering if Kurt would hear it or if he actually had fallen asleep now.

"I love you too", came the reply.

"That's the first time you've told me that", Blaine told him.

Kurt hadn't said the actual words before, but his actions and other words had the same content.  
>But it felt surprisingly good to hear those particular words anyway.<p>

Kurt made a little space between them so he could look up at him, his eyes widened in surprise.

"It is? Are you sure?", he asked.

"It's a thing you make sure to remember", Blaine said.

"Oh. I'm sorry. I love you very, very much", Kurt said soothingly.

Blaine smiled.

"Go to sleep now", he said and gently pushed Kurt down onto the bed again.

Kurt curled into a little ball in his arms and made a soft, pleased sound.

Blaine couldn't get over how adorably similar he was to a cat.


	17. Chapter 17

This is the last chapter, guys! I still haven't decided whether to make a sequel or not, and if I should post it here or as a separate story, but I'll figure it out I guess.

Thank you so much to everyone who's been reading and reviewing and putting me on story alert and everything. xxxx

* * *

><p>Blaine didn't sleep at all that night, but he couldn't care less.<p>

Kurt slept firmly throughout the night, and Blaine entertained himself by counting Kurt's heartbeats and listening to his even breathing. As usual, it calmed him.

But he couldn't help but think about what Kurt had told him. How Blaine's friends of three years had beaten up his boyfriend, and made him so terribly upset. Kurt didn't usually cry so it was certain he had been really scared.

Blaine was battling with himself all night. What would he do?  
>He knew he had to do something to put a stop to the harassment of Kurt.<p>

Kurt was the strongest and most independent person he knew, and he had no doubt that he could handle all the hate he got, but Blaine still couldn't stand allowing him to take it by himself.

He wished he could get thrown into rosebushes and pinned up against walls instead. It would be so much easier if he could just handle it himself.

He was at a loss for what to do. He could try to talk to his friends and tell them to back off, but he doubted it would help. If they thought Kurt had hexed him, they would just disregard anything he had to say as though they were Kurt's words coming through Blaine's mouth.

But he couldn't do nothing and just watch Kurt be miserable forever.

He hated the thought of hiding again. He didn't want Kurt to think he was ashamed of him, because he really wasn't. He had grown out of the prejudices he had been raised with, at least that's what he liked to think, and he would go to his grave claiming his love for Kurt.

And Kurt didn't want to hide anymore either. He wanted them to be out and proud, and not let the bullies set the rules for them.

But still-

Kurt was being tormented by _his_ friends, just because he had chosen to love Blaine.

Or maybe chosen wasn't the right word. He had been unfortunate to fall for him.

Blaine still couldn't understand what in the world Kurt saw in him. He had been terrible to him for years. He had his bright moments, but over all he was just awfully unworthy of Kurt.

But he saw no reason for pointing that out yet. Kurt would just have to realise it sooner or later.

Somewhere around 5am, Kurt stirred in his arms and slowly opened his eyes.

He turned around and almost rolled of the bed. With an inch to spare, Blaine managed to pull him back to safety.

Kurt turned again, a look of great surprise on his face.

"Oh, it's just you", he mumbled and seemed to relax.

"Who did you expect?", Blaine asked.

"I don't know", Kurt said. He was a little puzzled for a few moments. Then he shrugged. "Cheshire, perhaps."

"You thought I was a cat?", Blaine asked, trying to hold back a laugh.

"He usually sleeps in my bed", Kurt said sleepily. His eyes were slowly closing again.

Blaine didn't try to wake him up. He should sleep as much as possible.

Classes began at 8am, so he could sleep for at least another hour before they had to get up.

It would be suspicious if they came back to their respective common rooms dressed in the same clothes they'd worn yesterday, but he couldn't bother with that now.

He tried to relax and not think too much about his problems, but it was close to impossible.

They lay there for awhile, Blaine trying to make up his mind and Kurt being half-asleep.

When Kurt awoke the next time, he had been asleep for another hour and a half.

"What time is it?", he slurred.

It wasn't too often one got to hear Kurt speak so carelessly. Blaine found it hilarious.

"Half past six", he answered.

"We'll be late for class", Kurt mumbled and sat up straight.

He straightened out his legs, arms and back and then swung his legs off the bed and onto the ice-cold floor. His socks had mysteriously disappeared during the night. Or, rather, he had unconsciously kicked them off. Kurt didn't know that but Blaine did, because he had been watching as Kurt squirmed like crazy to get them off. He had been trying not to laugh out loud and wake him up.

Kurt gasped slightly and pulled his feet back up onto the bed.

He searched the floor for his socks and put them on.

Blaine couldn't bother to move. He just lay there and watched Kurt fix his hair in the mirror again.

He didn't look too pleased with what he saw. He kept twisting and turning his hair to get that usual shape, but it just wouldn't collaborate today.

He soon collapsed on the bed next to Blaine.

"I look horrible", he mumbled against the soft cover.

"No, you look great", Blaine said in an attempt to soothe him.

Kurt shot up and, instead of being thankful for getting a compliment, he looked really angry.

"Stop saying that! If you say it even when you don't mean it, how am I supposed to believe it when I actually do look great?", he asked.

"But I really think-", Blaine began but Kurt waved him off and stormed off to the mirror again.

He took a strand of his messy hair and showed it to Blaine.

"Look! It's a mess!", he exclaimed hysterically.

He moved on to his eyes, which were still carrying traces of the intense crying he had done yesterday.

"_Awful_!", he commented. "Not even all the make up in the world is going to cover this up."

"And _how_ am I supposed to leave this room looking like this?", he asked and gestured to his torn clothes.

As soon as Blaine tried to say something comforting, Kurt found another thing to complain about.

After far too much of this, Blaine had finally had enough. He got up, picked up the cake from the nightstand and firmly shoved it into Kurt's hands.

"Do you want to make me fat, too?", Kurt snapped and put away the cake, although he did glance occasionally at it with longing.

Blaine sat down at the bed again with a deep sigh.

"Why are you in such a bad mood?", he asked, and watched as Kurt kept pulling his hair in different directions to make some sense of it.

"Because I'm hideous, that's why!", Kurt exclaimed.

"But you're not", Blaine argued.

Kurt ignored him. He tried to style his hair for another few minutes before he gave up.

"I will just have to stay here forever, then", he said, picked up the cake and began eating angrily.

"You can just ask the room to get you whatever you want", Blaine reminded him.

"What do you mean?", Kurt asked. He seemed to have calmed down slightly, so Blaine found it a good time to explain just how practical the Room of Requirement was.

When he had finished, Kurt looked absolutely puzzled.

"So, I can just close my eyes and wish for the latest item from Alexander McQueen's collection, and it will just appear here?", he asked, gazing around the room.

"Yeah. But it doesn't last for long, but long enough for you to get to your common room and change into your own clothes", Blaine said.

Kurt did as he had instructed, and sure enough, a new set of clothes had just appeared on a chair to his right. Kurt jumped with excitement as he picked it up and fondly stroked the fabric of a jacket.

"Isn't it gorgeous?", he asked affectionately.

"It is", Blaine agreed half-heartedly.

Kurt barely noticed his lack of enthusiasm as he was too busy trying on the clothes.

When he had admired the effect in the mirror for several minutes, he got back to the bed and gave Blaine a small kiss, which he interpreted as an apology.

"I'm just really stressed out about going to Potions class again, because- well, I'm just stressed", he said and laid down on his back.

Blaine glanced over at him, resisting the urge to lay down next to him.

But he knew what Kurt had not wanted to say out loud. He was afraid of facing Blaine's friends after what they had done to him. He was afraid of getting beaten up again. He was afraid of walking through the hallways, because at any moment a none-friendly spell could come his way. And it was Blaine's fault that he had to be afraid.

He still hadn't made up his mind of how he was going to put a stop to it. Because it wasn't just Kurt who was hurting. Blaine's heart was throbbing painfully by the mere thought of someone hurting Kurt, and he knew that it was for the both of them that he needed to stop his friends. It surprised him that he still considered them friends after all they had done. But, he figured, three years of friendship doesn't go away that fast. But he could never truly trust them again.

"Are you ready to go?", he asked, instead of voicing these concerns.

He went over to the door and picked up Kurt's school robe.

"I'll put the rest of the cake in your pocket", he said and gently put the box with the cake into the robe pocket.

Kurt probably didn't hear him, because he was too busy gathering his things and making sure he hadn't forgotten anything. He hauled his bag over his shoulder and went over to get his robe from Blaine.

He opened the door and Blaine followed him out. They automatically intertwined their fingers as they walked the short way to the spot where they usually parted.

Blaine felt a sting of intense sorrow as he leaned in for the usual kiss of goodbye, but Kurt took it a step further and wrapped his arms around Blaine's neck and pulled him into a head-spinning kiss.

He, too, seemed unusually unwilling to part.

Blaine tried to enjoy the kiss, but the only thing he could think of was how this would be the last time he would get to hold Kurt like this.  
>He had made up his mind, finally. He would do anything to keep Kurt safe.<p>

"I'll see you soon, okay?", Kurt mumbled against his lips.

Blaine nodded, but didn't trust himself to speak.

And then, with a final promise of seeing him before the week was over, Kurt disappeared to the Gryffindor Tower.

Blaine watched as he disappeared from view, and then began the journey down to the dungeons.

* * *

><p><em>[Kurt's POV]<em>

Something felt wrong. He couldn't put his finger on it, but something was definitely wrong.

He was exceptionally cautious all day, just in case something would happen. He didn't even melt a cauldron in Potions by mistake because he was so entirely focused on nothing going wrong.

When he had gotten through the day without any severe incidents, he was both relieved and surprised. He had had this feeling of upcoming trouble before, and it had always ended in pain on his behalf. So why hadn't anything happened this time?

Puzzled, he followed his friends as they headed to the Great Hall for dinner. He still had the little box with cake in his dormitory but he had cast a spell on it so it wouldn't get bad. He wanted to save it for when he met Blaine again. Or, if he couldn't hold out that long, at least for later so he could find some comfort in it when he couldn't sleep because he missed Blaine too much.

It had become difficult to fall asleep without him.

"Kurt, are you coming?", Mercedes called from ahead.

He had trailed behind and they were now quite a bit ahead of him.

He sped up his pace so he were soon right next to them.

"What is up with you?", she asked and linked arms with him.

"I have this feeling something bad is going to happen", he mumbled to her.

She glanced nervously around them to see no one was listening. She knew Kurt's 'feelings' had been quite accurate in the past.

"What kind of feeling is it?", she asked.

"I don't know. But the day is nearly over, so maybe I was wrong after all", he said.

When she tried to question him further, he put an end to the conversation by saying they would talk about it later. He was hungry and needed to get some food quick.

They walked into the Great Hall and settled down at the far end of the Gryffindor table where there were some available seats. Kurt was careful while eating his dinner too, making sure no one spilled boiling water at him when they poured tea or stained his clothes with food.

When he and his friends were all finished, he felt slightly better. Perhaps he had been wrong after all.

He linked arms with Mercedes on the way out, too. She was happily talking about her most recent date with Sam. But then one of their friends, a Ravenclaw girl called Rachel Berry, joined them and interrupted their conversation. She was dating Finn Hudson, Keeper of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team and also Kurt's stepbrother. His mother Carole had married Kurt's dad Burt when the two boys were in their second year.

Finn and Rachel had been on and off for a while now, and she had apparently done something to upset him and was hoping Kurt had heard something about it.

"I honestly don't know what I did! He just got really upset and he hasn't talked to me for a week. Can't you talk to him and find out why he's upset?", Rachel asked.

"Why can't you ask him yourself? I'm busy", Kurt said.

"_Please_?", Rachel pleaded.

"Alright, I'll talk to him. But he rarely tells me anything at all, so don't expect too much", Kurt said.

"Thank you!", Rachel chirped and kissed his cheek before running off.

Mercedes was just about to resume her rant about Sam, when she was interrupted by Blaine and his group of Slytherin friends coming towards them.

Kurt catched Blaine's eye and tried to smile but it got stuck in his throat. Blaine looked so cold.

He remembered that look all too well from their first two years when Blaine had tried so hard to fit in with his friends that he had been acting mean and cold, just like he was now. But why?

Kurt barely recognized him like this. His usual soft, gorgeous hazel eyes were now hard as steel and his jaws were clenched.

Somewhere in the distant he could feel Mercedes tighten her grip on his arm.

Sebastian came up next to Blaine and found Kurt's eye too. He smiled that vicious smile.

Loud enough for everyone to hear, he said, "He's breaking up with you."

Everything went blank. Kurt couldn't even hear the next couple of insults coming out of Sebastians mouth because he was too shocked. He couldn't move, speak or even breathe.

This couldn't be happening. He looked at Blaine for some sort of recognition that this wasn't true. It couldn't be. They had been fine just a few hours ago.  
>But Blaine didn't meet his eye.<p>

Kurt turned to Sebastian instead, who was still talking.

"What are you talking about?", he asked.

"It was a prank, stupid. I slipped you both a love potion", Sebastian said.

Kurt's mouth fell open.

Was that true? But it couldn't be. He had been in love with Blaine since they first met. Sebastian couldn't have given him that love potion ever since then. It was impossible. Or was it?

"You didn't really think he was gay, did you?", Sebastian asked, grinning.

Kurt didn't know what to think.

Had his love for Blaine been just the effect of a stupid potion? Was he even gay, then?  
>It felt as though his entire existence had just crashed around him.<p>

Sebastian's cold laughter shattered his little bubble of thoughts and pulled him back into reality.

And the reality was that whatever he and Blaine had shared for the last few months had been a lie.

It felt as though his knees would fail him any moment now.

There were plenty of students around them as they were standing right at the entrance to the Great Hall, and they were all watching the drama.

"Blaine's potion stopped working before I could slip him another so he found out what I did and threw it away. Yours is still working, I guess", Sebastian said.

Kurt wanted to run as far away as he possibly could. This was the worst thing that could have happened. He had been right; something awful would happen today.  
>He could feel Mercedes tugging at his sleeve to make him move.<p>

It felt as though he was deep inside a cloud and nothing could reach him there. He felt numbed and empty.

"Kurt, are you okay?"

It was Mercedes. Without realising it, she had taken him all the way to the Gryffindor common room.  
>He blinked.<p>

Blaine had broken up with him.

Sebastian had faked their love with a love potion.

Kurt had no idea who he was anymore, or who he loved.

Without another word he climbed the stair to his dormitory.

It was empty. The boys he shared it with were still down in the Great Hall.

He kicked off his shoes and climbed into his bed and pulled the curtains closed around him.

He laid down with his legs pulled up close to his body. He tried to swallow the tears but they came mercilessly. He lay there for quite a while, crying without any restraints until he could barely breathe.

He spent another few minutes breathing deeply in and out so he wouldn't pass out from lack of oxygen. When he had recovered enough, he sat up.

"Lumos", he mumbled to his wand so it lit up at the top.

He remembered he had some chocolate cake left, and he would probably never need it as much as he did now.  
>He had it hidden in a locked drawer beside his bed, so he pulled the curtains apart, unlocked the drawer and picked it up.<br>Then he settled down on his bed again and tugged the curtans closed.

The spell had been successful and it looked just as good as it had before.

Just as he had taken his first bite, he noticed a bit of parchment stuck in the frosting.  
>He picked it up and unfolded it. He almost threw it away when he saw that it was from Blaine.<p>

But his curiosity won and he read it anyway.

_Dear Kurt,_

_I'm so very, deeply, terribly sorry for what I did to you._

_Sebastian didn't give either of us a love potion. I used the Confundus Charm on him so he would think that he did.  
>I know I hurt you and it was a terrible thing to do, and I could have told you what I was going to do before I did it, but I didn't think it would have looked believable if I did.<em>

_I'm really sorry, and I hope you can forgive me._

_You are the love of my life and I am very proud to be your boyfriend, but being official is not good for either of us right now, so for now I think we should meet in secret like before._

_I know you hate hiding and I do too, but I love you so much I can't stand for anyone to hurt you, and especially not just because of me._

_I'll be in the Room of Requirement at midnight.  
>Meet me there if you love me even though I'm a horrible coward, and if you don't ever want to speak to me again, I understand.<em>

_Whatever words I say, I will always love you._

_Forever yours,_

_Blaine_

Kurt suddenly realised that he was crying again.

He took a few deep breaths and then read through the letter ten times more before he dared believe the words. It was all just a scam. Blaine still loved him, which meant that Kurt's love for him was real too. Sebastian had nothing to do with it.

Blaine had just wanted to protect him from his vicious friends.  
>He made a mental note to make sure he scolded Blaine about this later though, because he could have done it in a way that didn't scare Kurt half to death.<p>

Then he fell asleep, comforted by the thought that he had not yet kissed Blaine for the last time.

* * *

><p>A few minutes before midnight, Kurt entered the Room of Requirement.<p>

There were no sources of light and the walls lacked windows. But as soon as Kurt closed the door, hundreds of small candles lit up all over the room.

Blaine was sitting on the usual four-poster bed, looking extremely guilty.

Kurt lost all thoughts of yelling at him. He was so overwhelmed with relief that he hadn't lost him after all that he just went straight up to him and wrapped his arms tightly around him.

"Don't ever scare me like that again", he mumbled against Blaine's shoulder.

"I'm really sorry", Blaine mumbled back.

Kurt refused to let go until about ten minutes had passed.

Then he reluctantly let his arms fall from Blaine's neck, but he didn't make it very far until Blaine pulled him back into a long, very tender kiss that seemed to last forever.  
>Kurt felt incredibly dizzy when Blaine finally let go of him.<p>

When he had collected himself, he noticed the dozens of red roses spread out across the room for the first time. He smiled.

"Really? Roses?", he said.

Blaine shrugged.

"I was really horrible to you", he said. Then he nervously added, "Don't you like roses?"

"Of course I do. I was just a little surprised", Kurt said. He kissed him again.

He was still afraid it was all a dream and that Blaine would disappear as soon as Kurt let go of him.

"Don't you want to scream at me?", Blaine asked after a while.

"No. I did at first, but not anymore. Maybe this is for the best. But I won't hide forever", Kurt said.

"Of course not", Blaine said and smiled. Then his smiled faded away quickly. His hand gently stroke across Kurt's cheek and right beneath his eyes, which still carried traces of tears.

"Have you been crying?", he asked.

"Of course. I thought you broke up with me and that you never even loved me in the first place", Kurt said and looked down.

Blaine slowly caressed his cheek.

"I'm so sorry", he mumbled.

Kurt shook his head.

"Let's forget it ever happened", he said determinedly. "I need to sleep."

Blaine nodded, although he didn't look too convinced he had done enough to apologise.

"If you do anything more to say you're sorry, _I_ will break up with _you_", Kurt threatened, though they both knew he would never go through with it.

But it made Blaine smile.

"Alright", he said. "You know that I love you, right?"

Kurt smiled back.

"Yes. I love you too."


End file.
